Genucontrol
®
Hinged, rigid ligament knee brace
Whether you are a professional athlete or mainly need support
for routine day-to-day activities, Genucontrol
®
knee brace is
specially designed to give you the help you need. It sets the
standard for comfort, support and ease of use. The professional
fitting your brace must check that it fits properly and is working
correctly when you put it on for the first time. He will then make
any necessary adjustments.
Indications
• knee joint instability following cruciate and/or collateral
ligament injuries (ACL, PCL, MCL, LCL),
• following ligament (ACL, PCL, MCL, LCL) or cartilage surgery,
• following surgical treatment for a dislocated kneecap,
• arthritis of the knee joint,
• functional therapy for knee injury
.
Contraindications
• In the event of the following conditions, the knee brace
should only be used on the advice of your doctor:
- skin injuries and diseases, significant scarring with tume-
faction, skin redness and hyperthermia affecting the zone in
contact with the knee brace,
- serious varicose disease (varicose veins) with venous reflux
disorders,
- impaired sensitivity affecting the legs (for example diabetes
mellitus),
- arterial circulation problems.
• Do not apply the product in direct contact with broken skin
.
KNEE BRACE SHAPING
The central structure of the Genucontrol
l®
knee brace is made of
highly resistant aluminium. The aluminium frame must not fit the
contour of the leg just above and below the hinges too closely. It
is neither necessary nor recommended that the orthosis be bent
or shaped. Contact with the leg for the purposes of support is
only important at the center of the knee and the proximal and
distal ends of the brace. The black polymer ends of the brace
automatically fit to the leg when the straps are tightened. Thic-
ker padding is provided at the condyles to fill any gap and/or
exert additional pressure on the sides of the knee.
The synergistic suspension strap
is attached to the outside of
the frame and is designed to wrap inside between the brace’s
lower shell and your leg. The strap is also angled to match the
natural contour of the top of your calf muscle. This strap should
be tightened in the flexion fold in the back of your knee.
Adjusting the strap length:
The straps on your brace can be cut to any length. Simply
remove the alligator closure from the end of the strap, cut the
strap to the desired length, and reposition the closure onto the
end of the strap. Be very careful not to cut any strap too short!
Additionally, any comfort pad that is attached to the inside of a
strap must be removed and cut shorter if the pad interferes with
your ability to completely tighten the strap. You can cut the pad
and re-center it on the strap.
Fitting of flexion and extension stops:
The hinges are fitted with stops to limit extension to 0° by default.
A kit containing stops to limit extension to 5°, 10°, 15° and 20° and
an Allen key is supplied. Follow the instructions below if you need
to change the extension limitation setting. If the kit containing
stops to limit flexion has been ordered, the instructions for fitting
these stops are provided below.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADJUSTING THE EXTENSION STOPS
At the time of fabrication, zero degree extension stops have
been installed in each TM5+ Hinge. To install a different pair of
extension stops, follow these instructions :
1.
Detach the pair of stops required from the plastic support with
all the stops available. You must install identical extension stops
in both hinges.
2.
Remove the screw located on
the side of each hinge
(Fig. 1).
3.
After removing the screws, flex
the brace and remove the zero
degree stop from each hinge.
Note the direction each stop is
facing.
4.
Insert the desired stops, hole
end first, with the hook end at the
top and facing forward. Straigh-
ten the brace to full extension to
push the stops down into position.
The small hole in each stop must
be aligned and visible through
the screw hole so the screw will
thread into the stop.
5.
Reinsert and tighten the screw.
Flex and extend the brace
several times to ensure the
stop is locked into position and
functioning properly.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADJUSTING THE FLEXION STOPS (OPTIONAL)
1.
To limit flexion, detach the
stops required from the two
metal uprights with all the stops
available. Each stop has the
degree etched into the surface.
You must install the same degree
stop in both hinges.
2.
If you are installing the 110
degree flexion stops, remove
the two screws from the poste-
rior aspect of each hinge cover
(Fig. 2)
and take out the spacer
that was installed at the factory.
There is only one hole in the 110
degree stop. Insert the stop, with
the flat end facing up, and posi-
tion it so the hole in the stop is
visible through the lower screw
hole in the cap. The screw must
thread through the cap and stop
to secure the stop in the proper
position. The second (top) screw
can be reinserted back into the
hinge cap to fill the empty hole.
3.
If you are installing the 0, 30, 45,
60, 75 or 90 degree flexion stops,
remove both screws from the
posterior aspect of each hinge
cap and take out the spacer that was installed at the factory.
Insert the stop with the flat end facing up and position it so that
both holes in the stop are visible through the screw holes in the
cap. Thread and tighten the screws through the cap and into
both holes in the stop.
4.
Flex the brace until the upright contacts the stops to ensure
they are functioning properly.
PATIENT FITTING INSTRUCTIONS
Identifying knee center:
When you begin to put on your brace, it is
important for the hinges to be aligned with
knee center. This means that the centre of the
hinges against the sides of the knee must be
aligned with the upper third of your kneecap.
Additionally, when you tighten the synergistic
suspension strap in the flexion fold behind your
knee, the hinges should be aligned at knee
center at the right height on your leg.
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