Knees giving way

[stone]

Anyone have any tried and tested knee support solutions to at least take some of the chop pressure off?

How you hit the chop can make a difference--try to mix it up bit: (my knees were crap before I started kiting, yet they don't bother me much kiting):

Sometimes you need to suck up the chop like you're hitting a mogul field. That means bending your knees and waist before you hit that ramp. Yeah, it's a poo stance. Who cares--nobody's gonna photo you on the outbound tack. Sucking up the chop this way is physically tiring but eases the banging on your cartilage. Mix it in when you see some steep shit coming your way.

Corkscrew over the chop by bearing off as you go up the ramp then heading up once you're over--you lose a few feet of upwind progress, but it's another way to avoid taking a hit.

Sheet in a bit for some lift as you hit the chop, shift your weight onto your front leg and use your back leg to slew the board around--it's loads of fun and is another way to rest the usual wear spots on your knees.

Consider skipping the marginal inconsistent wind days (like the last two). Days where I have to work like a bastard in light wind tweak me out more than do fully powered and superlit days.

And yeah, softer boards with tons of rocker are fantastic on the ebb tide days. They also work on flood if you have enough wind. The LF pads don't suck either.

[Mork]

All advice sincerely heeded...glucosomine on my banana 'n' cornflakes in the morning, knee strengthening, stretching (how many times have I ignored that advice over the years), stance duck and upright, plus choose your battles for the wind and chop. Considering my knee as a womans butt still not sure where to go on that one!

Interested in board and stance effect here. Ride a Jimmy Lewis 07 Model III. To be honest the pads to straps to foot fit are a pain in the butt. I am continuously fighting to secure a good connection when riding. Many times encounter a jump throw foot come loose to panic scenario and just cannot get the connection no matter how much I curl my toes or jam in my feet. Will try to focus on a more duck angle next session though.

Rode a buddies board the other day and it was like glueing a couple Sealy Posturepedics to my feet, what a difference. Not really armed to comment on board flex, rocker, design aspects but that is interesting.

[maxsteamer]

Hello Mork,

To FUNNY!!! you don't know what to do with a "Womens Butt???" JK!!!.. what I meant by that comment?.. is that if the soft tissue around the knee felt like a womens butt, this was a sign of "Atrothe".. and should be strengthened to give the knee caps something other then the jelly substance to push against for support.

[adamrod]

Many times encounter a jump throw foot come loose to panic scenario and just cannot get the connection no matter how much I curl my toes or jam in my feet.

last year, i made a modification to my pads/straps which i from here on out, can't do without. I've found that pretty much all straps (unless you have size 14 feet or wear booties) generally press down upon your foot. so when you compress the pad on a landing or a takeoff, it creates looseness in the strap. they key to having your straps stay on is to make them grab the sides of your foot. with my straps, there is barely any pressure on the top, but lots of friction on the sides. it provides for much better lateral stability and makes it much less likely for your foot to come out.

the simple way to do this is to modify your pads such that you can attach your strap on the next screw hole in. in other words, if your pads are designed for say, a 6" hole spacing, cut your pad such that you can screw your strap into a 5" hole spacing. makes all the difference. does that make sense?

[kkaplan]

So my knee issue is slightly different. I sprained/twisted my knee late last season, landed with a foot out…
Anyways, when it's cold or been riding hard - or riding in the cold, it gets very tight and sensitive. I develop a slight (gangster) limp due to this, also sometimes feels as if it'll invert?

I've been getting acupuncture for this, she uses needles and electro-stimulation with the needles - something out of Jack Bauer's (24) arsenal, well not that bad. About a half hour after the treatment it feels great - no limp, and the pain is very reduced to not noticeable. This last until I beat the piss out of it again on the water or snow. She, as one guys Dr mentioned, also recommends "rest" but understands the sport, so I keep going back after those choppy bay days.

[zgur]

You got some really great input. The best way to put less strain on your body, is to change somethin....

I used to be into TT riding, powered up and doing wake moves. It took a toll on my body: stuff you described and other dues - broken ribs, etc....combine that with the normal aging process.......

Then I discovered the joy of waves, which lead me to exploring surfboards....there's a natural evolution there too.....tt/short surfboard/surfboard w/straps....

Now I ride as small a kite as possible (frequently on a kite size smaller then even women), on a surfboard w/no straps. My knees never hurt after sessions....the only pains I have are muscles that need to be stronger - which has nothing to do with my gear, just fitness level....

But as they used to say in car commercials "your mileage may vary, based on your driving habits"

Get sum, Z

[elli]

Just remembered it.
I once bought a used board from an orthotics maker, with footpads that he made for himself. Those were by far the best footpads I ever tried. They were too short for me (me=bigfoot), so I asked him how much. Around $300.
What is amazing about those pads is that there is no knee pain of even slight discomfort whatsoever after a standard session. They are very tight around the foot, something like adam describes, no side movement. The foot is locked in pretty well and does not slip out in crooked landings (another potential knee damage).

I was thinking about biting the bullet a few times and getting them my size, since I can’t really use those. I guess in a couple of years when I am little older (and hopefully richer) I will bite.

If anyone is interested I can try to dig the guys contact, he is not local as far as I remember, somewhere in the east coast. Send me PM.

It would be cool if a kite company takes on a project like this, making pads in that quality in all shoe sizes. Those are very tight, "one size fits all" will not work (not even 3 sizes).
I am now waiting on new UG pads that looks promising too (strong side support), if there is anything worth mentioning I'll add a note.

[super_monkey]

Just remembered it.
I once bought a used board from an orthotics maker, with footpads that he made for himself. Those were by far the best footpads I ever tried. They were too short for me (me=bigfoot), so I asked him how much. Around $300.
What is amazing about those pads is that there is no knee pain of even slight discomfort whatsoever after a standard session. They are very tight around the foot, something like adam describes, no side movement. The foot is locked in pretty well and does not slip out in crooked landings (another potential knee damage).

I was thinking about biting the bullet a few times and getting them my size, since I can’t really use those. I guess in a couple of years when I am little older (and hopefully richer) I will bite.

If anyone is interested I can try to dig the guys contact, he is not local as far as I remember, somewhere in the east coast. Send me PM.

It would be cool if a kite company takes on a project like this, making pads in that quality in all shoe sizes. Those are very tight, "one size fits all" will not work (not even 3 sizes).
I am now waiting on new UG pads that looks promising too (strong side support), if there is anything worth mentioning I'll add a note.

So what's the pad size that doesn't fit you? I could be persuaded to take them off your hands.

[sloughslut]

Try bacon.