knee brace side by side review Asterisk vs CTI

[mattmoto441]

here is a little knee brace review of the CTi Custom and the Asterisk cell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDVKQ_nObXw

[Ronus]

those CTIs look just like the Troy Lee Designs Catalyst X braces that i have , probably alot cheaper too. Good review matt, never liked the astrisks myself

[mattmoto441]

those CTIs look just like the Troy Lee Designs Catalyst X braces that i have , probably alot cheaper too. Good review matt, never liked the astrisks myself

Thanks

the CTI Custom is a Full Custom made Medical Grade Brace. you have to have a doctors script to get them. They Cost in the $1200-$1800 Each range

to fit mine they casted my legs and made molds and built the brace around the molds

http://www.ossur.com/?PageID=13230

[Woods_Rider]

Wow, thanks for that video. I had no idea those Astericks braces had that much flex built into them.

That is GARBAGE! It will not protect your knee joint.

For anyone looking into a knee brace, please look into a custom fitted brace like the CTi's. Anything off the shelf will just not fit as well, and will not offer the necessary protection.

Cost: if you have insurance and your doc prescribes the brace, your insurance should cover the bulk of the cost and you will be out no more then the cost of these crappy off the shelf braces.

3 knee surgeries and on my second CTi2, I would never wear an off the shelf brace.

[mattmoto441]

my blue cross blue shield ins paid 100% of the braces

[Woods_Rider]

my blue cross blue shield ins paid 100% of the braces

?

[El Liebre]

CTI's are very nice but w/out a prescription I got the EVS Web knee braces. I've hyper extended my knee at one time and the Web is the only knee brace that has a locking system at the pivot which prevents hyper extention. They have removable inserts that change the degree to where it locks. Really great for post knee injury riders like myself and awesome for knee injury prevention. Best knee brace for me:thumbsup:

[CaptainKnobby]

Wow, thanks for that video. I had no idea those Astericks braces had that much flex built into them.

That is GARBAGE! It will not protect your knee joint.

For anyone looking into a knee brace, please look into a custom fitted brace like the CTi's. Anything off the shelf will just not fit as well, and will not offer the necessary protection.

Cost: if you have insurance and your doc prescribes the brace, your insurance should cover the bulk of the cost and you will be out no more then the cost of these crappy off the shelf braces.

3 knee surgeries and on my second CTi2, I would never wear an off the shelf brace.

After I tore my ACL I had the Doc to wright me a prescription for knee braces and decided just to go with the OTS version CTi Pro-Sport model and they fit me perfect. I used their sizing chart and came up with a medium and ordered a pair and they fit me too a tee.

I couldnt see spending $1200.00 on just one custom brace vs. spending $989.91 for a pair of the same kind except for em being (off the shelf).

The design is the same between the custom and OTS, its that the custom ones is they take a mold from your leg and with that it's just probably a few cm's difference between the OTS version and the customs.

I see no need of getting custom braces when they have OTS ones made the same way cause everybodys leg is straight unless you have some deformity and it needs to be made at different angles.

[mattmoto441]

CTI's are very nice but w/out a prescription I got the EVS Web knee braces. I've hyper extended my knee at one time and the Web is the only knee brace that has a locking system at the pivot which prevents hyper extention. They have removable inserts that change the degree to where it locks. Really great for post knee injury riders like myself and awesome for knee injury prevention. Best knee brace for me:thumbsup:

the asterisk and CTI have stops for hyper extension, the asterisk has a allen key that you screw in or out and the CTI has interchangeable locks

[mattmoto441]

After I tore my ACL I had the Doc to wright me a prescription for knee braces and decided just to go with the OTS version CTi Pro-Sport model and they fit me perfect. I used their sizing chart and came up with a medium and ordered a pair and they fit me too a tee.

I couldnt see spending $1200.00 on just one custom brace vs. spending $989.91 for a pair of the same kind except for em being (off the shelf).

The design is the same between the custom and OTS, its that the custom ones is they take a mold from your leg and with that it's just probably a few cm's difference between the OTS version and the customs.

I see no need of getting custom braces when they have OTS ones made the same way cause everybodys leg is straight unless you have some deformity and it needs to be made at different angles.

my Insurance Blue cross blue shield paid 100% of the braces

[Woods_Rider]

I see no need of getting custom braces when they have OTS ones made the same way cause everybodys leg is straight unless you have some deformity and it needs to be made at different angles.

That is complete bullsh*t. There is a reason that custom fit braces are made and it is because they will fit better then an off the shelf brace.

Next time you break a leg or arm, just tell the surgeon to grab any old cast off his shelf since everyone's arms and legs are the same.

And a few cm's could be the difference between a torn acl or not.

If you are comfortable with an off the shelf fine, but don't try to tell people that everybody's leg is the same and it will fit the same as a custom fit brace - that is simply not true.

[CaptainKnobby]

I meant that everyones leg is the same symmetry ...meaning parallel and not off set or diagonal. Yes .....everybodys leg is different as far as size goes but the molds that they use is still taking up some space of the materials they use to make the brace. Its not like they are useing your own skin to make the brace out of.

[Ronus]

CTI's are very nice but w/out a prescription I got the EVS Web knee braces. I've hyper extended my knee at one time and the Web is the only knee brace that has a locking system at the pivot which prevents hyper extention. They have removable inserts that change the degree to where it locks. Really great for post knee injury riders like myself and awesome for knee injury prevention. Best knee brace for me:thumbsup:

Almost all high end braces have this

[Ronus]

Thanks

the CTI Custom is a Full Custom made Medical Grade Brace. you have to have a doctors script to get them. They Cost in the $1200-$1800 Each range

to fit mine they casted my legs and made molds and built the brace around the molds

[urlhttp://www.ossur.com/?PageID=13230[/url]

[imghttp://a3.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/141/54289e7aca1a499f9b821ac657a2a41a/l.jpg[/img]

I know what CTI custom braces are, im telling you that the framing looks just like the catalyst X braces. Also the TLD X braces are medical quality as well. They are made by VQ Orthocare. Thus, if you DONT have a script for redic expensive braces, you can get nearly the same thing (as the CTI over the counter ones) for $600

[mattmoto441]

Asterisk are made and invented by the original guy that invented the CTI2,

the TLD braces are made by a medical group but are not a medical coded brace that insurance will pay for. they only braces that are MX quailty and that are coded so insurance will pay for them are CTI Customs, DonJoy Legends and PoDMX700s

im sure that a lot of knee brace frames look alike , not to many different way to make a knee brace

[KEG505]

but the molds that they use is still taking up some space of the materials they use to make the brace. Its not like they are useing your own skin to make the brace out of.

Have you ever casted someone before and made/poured up their mold? Its very accurate. First you take a bunch of measurements, circumference, width, fib head distance to floor, malleolus, etc. Pull stockinet over the leg to avoid a lot of mess/pulled out leg hair. Then the leg is wrapped directly on the skin with rolls of plaster. When the plaster cast is dry, it's cut it off with a cast saw. The mold is pulled off the leg and stapled shut. More strips of plaster close up the bottom end, where the foot is. You now have your negative mold. Coat the inside of the mold with floor wax. This will make removing the mold from the positive mold you are about to make much easier. Then the mold is stood up, and a mandrel is placed inside. Once your mandrel is sitting where you want it you mix up some powdered plaster with vermiculite and water. The vermiculite will make your positive mold lighter, and easier to shape/smooth out. When its the consistency of wet cement, the mixture is poured into the mold. Once it is full, move it around and tap the sides to get rid of some air bubbles. Once that hardens you peel off the negative mold. You now have your positive mold. Use a rasp to smooth things out/shape your mold to the measurements you took earlier. You now have a very accurate model of that persons leg.

[ncc]

Have you ever casted someone before and made/poured up their mold? Its very accurate. First you take a bunch of measurements, circumference, width, fib head distance to floor, malleolus, etc. Pull stockinet over the leg to avoid a lot of mess/pulled out leg hair. Then the leg is wrapped directly on the skin with rolls of plaster. When the plaster cast is dry, it's cut it off with a cast saw. The mold is pulled off the leg and stapled shut. More strips of plaster close up the bottom end, where the foot is. You now have your negative mold. Coat the inside of the mold with floor wax. This will make removing the mold from the positive mold you are about to make much easier. Then the mold is stood up, and a mandrel is placed inside. Once your mandrel is sitting where you want it you mix up some powdered plaster with vermiculite and water. The vermiculite will make your positive mold lighter, and easier to shape/smooth out. When its the consistency of wet cement, the mixture is poured into the mold. Once it is full, move it around and tap the sides to get rid of some air bubbles. Once that hardens you peel off the negative mold. You now have your positive mold. Use a rasp to smooth things out/shape your mold to the measurements you took earlier. You now have a very accurate model of that persons leg.

And then when the custom brace is made it fits 100% that person and while it might strap on another person, it does not have a good fit and function.

[KEG505]

And then when the custom brace is made it fits 100% that person and while it might strap on another person, it does not have a good fit and function.

Exactly, Its custom made for that one person.

[Woods_Rider]

They didn't use a mold for my two CTi fittings. They used a system of direct measurements, took a bunch of different measurements.

Both of my braces fit like gloves. From my experience its extremely accurate.

[Ronus]

Asterisk are made and invented by the original guy that invented the CTI2,

the TLD braces are made by a medical group but are not a medical coded brace that insurance will pay for. they only braces that are MX quailty and that are coded so insurance will pay for them are CTI Customs, DonJoy Legends and PoDMX700s

im sure that a lot of knee brace frames look alike , not to many different way to make a knee brace

Id like to hear where you got this info. Here is the link to the VQ Orthocare branded Catalyst. Im pretty sure that if hospitals use them , they would be covered.

http://www.vqorthocare.com/Products/Bracing_Supports/Ligament_Knee/Catalyst.php

from their site

"VQ OrthoCare is registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a medical device manufacturer and specification developer. We follow stringent federal guidelines for manufacturing, inspection, handling, storage, distribution and delivery of controlled medical devices to patients. These federal regulations help ensure safety and efficacy for patients and the community."

In any case if you read my response, i said if you DONT have a prescription to get custom made ones these are a good alternative.