Inside Ortema - The German Custom Brace Producer
Open to all with no membership fees, plus bonus time off work, special treatment from friends and family, and a continuous stream of some of the biggest names in action sports signing up, it’s no surprise that the ‘broken riders club’ continues to grow and recruit large volumes of literal fresh blood every year. Unfortunately, joining is also associated with excessive sofa-time, a good deal of staring out of the window with sad eyes, and the accompaniment of unwanted accessories such as crutches and slings, not to mention the lashings of pain and agony. Luckily here in Southern Germany, we have one orthopedic technology and sport protection brand looking to set things right and get you back on track pronto.
Ortema was established over 30 years ago with intentions to become far more than just a logo on a generic product; the company offers the complete package from the very best in medical consultation, surgery and rehabilitation before sending patients out the door with custom-made, protective supports for nigh-on any body part. Turn up as a regular patient or wounded soldier of just about any sport, whether it be skiing, hockey, motocross, and of course MTB and you’ll be well looked after. This year Pinkbike made the trip down to their Markgroeningen HQ, near Stuttgart, for a look at their bike protection line, a ride in the local woods and to get a detailed insight into the creation of their number one selling custom product – the K-Com knee brace in all its carbon-titanium glory.
With a considerable workforce and a large number of departments, sports protection is marked by the fleet of Ortema vehicles lining the spaces outside.
A showroom and store at the entrance of the building introduce you to some of the more and lesser-known products in the Orthopedic Technology Markgroeningen (OR-TE-MA) range.
Many greats from all kinds of sports disciplines have passed through these doors over the years, not least Germany's own Supercross superstar, Ken Roczen, who runs a pair of the K-Com knee braces under his race pants.
Company CEO, Hartmut Semsch.
 | When we started out in 1986, Ortema was only 14 employees, just a fraction of the 250 employed with us today. What we are able to offer has changed enormously since those early days and we are continuing to expand while both specialising and diversifying what we do. The growth of our physiotherapy, ergotherapy, medical fitness and outpatient orthopedic rehab has played a decisive role in what we can do for people and especially athletes. Ortema has become a total provider in the field of medical technology and therapeutics, unparalleled right now in both size and scope in Germany. We are in a good place! |
Harmut takes us through the many possible issues people develop in their knees...
... it turns out there are more than a few ways to bugger the only two you get.
| While we strive to continue in our provision of unrivalled care for performance athletes, injury prevention in the form of sports protection is key in our future and we see a lot of potential areas to apply our expertise in the gravity bicycle market. It's a huge ongoing challenge, but we have a great team with many ideas to implement across the disciplines as well as high-tech materials and production methods |
Head of research and development, Tiberius Winkler, talks us through the ultra-lightweight spine protector found inside the Ortho-max enduro jacket.
Putting in some a little design work on an all-new project...
...an elbow guard that doesn't restrict movement or blood-flow. Here's hoping!
The ONB (Ortema Neck Brace) coming together in one of many workshops.
Made in Germany.
The ONB prides itself on being low-profile and low-weight and features a horseshoe-shaped support strut at the rear to deflect forces away from the spine. Ortema will even customize it for your ride position and your body armor set-up with one of their technicians and a trusty heat gun.
You should get one... Kenny says.
Ex-World Cup racer and 15 time German DH champion, Marcus Klausmann, is an integral part of Ortema's research and development program for new products for the MTB market. Last year he raced Enduro and worked closely with the design team to create the Ortho-Max Enduro Jacket, which went on to claim a Eurobike and Design and Innovation Award. Ever the true professional in everything he does and with over twenty years of experience from his long racing career, he is well qualified to assist the brand. Markus is a picky guy when it comes to his equipment, everything has to be just right and Ortema are aiming to set that same goal for everything they bring to market.
Klausmann destroying some of the Stuttgart terrain just outside the city. His great wealth of experience is obviously a great asset to a company spread across multiple sports.
Back at the clinic, chief physician Dr. Joerg Richter checks out the damage with a patient. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is the most commonly injured in the knee with some 100,000 people suffering problems every year in Germany alone. With many more struggling with PCL, painful meniscus injuries and early arthritis symptoms, Ortema has developed one of the best supports for knee stabilisation alongside its own team of medical experts – the K-Com brace. Time to find out how these things are put together!
The team of expert technicians making your custom brace a reality.
The customer, in this case, both a skier and a rider, has his leg marked with a Sharpie to indicate the main muscle groups and bones, before being photographed and having plaster applied.
The plaster-cast is removed and re-marked inside for clarity in the phases to follow.
Having been sealed to make a hollow mould the technician determines the optimum position of the pivot point for the brace. It's a crucial part of the process because while placing it too high isn't so problematic if the joint is positioned too low movement will be badly restricted. A senior technician usually also gives his opinion for this important stage and will also refer back to the pictures.
After driving a metal rod across the width of the cast at the point where the polycentric joint will sit, our technician, Kevin, covers the bottom of the leg cast so it can be filled.
Clay is poured into the mould to produce a solid cast of the customer's leg. Kevin is now adding a special blue-dyed plaster mix back onto the leg to replicate where muscle will take up additional space as it flexes during activity and in this case, with a bit extra as the customer's leg has reduced in muscle mass on account of his ACL injury.
Once dry it is filed down to a smooth finish, the blue areas obviously indicating where additional material has been applied.
The cast has black plastic spacers nailed into place which will accommodate the straps and ensure a flat and even fit for the brace. It is then wrapped in multiple layers of bandage to account for the padding material that will line the inside of the completed brace. In time the customer will be able to reduce the thickness of the liner as his muscle returns to full strength and size.
The articulated titanium joints are shaped and all sharp edges ground smooth before being fitted on either side of our 'leg'. Thanks to interlocking teeth they are adjustable as to how much flexion and extension they will allow on the final product.
The exact method for lay-up of the carbon weave has to remain an Ortema secret, but it is applied after a layer of clear plastic is wrapped around the bandage-clad cast.
The resin is mixed with a setting agent, poured into the top of a second layer of clear plastic enclosing the carbon weave.
It is then massaged over all areas of the brace to fill all the gaps between the carbon material.
Any athlete who visits Orthema gets to make the most of the rehab facilities while they wait.
Our man Gunther, hits the rowing machines while he waits for the technicians to finish rustling up his brace.
You should never ride on an empty stomach and in Stuttgart, a pretzel is always a great choice.
Dominique Essig, marketing manager of the Ortema Sports Protection department meets up with Ortema athletes Markus Klausmann and Steffi Marth to get out in the woods for a lunch ride.
Steffi recently got fitted out with an Ortema carbon wrist brace after a bad fracture to her radius last summer.
| There aren't too many options on the market for a custom brace that you know is going to fit perfectly. My new wrist brace is super lightweight and gives me the confidence to take on roots, rocks and the occasional jump again after my injury last year. It still allows a wide range of movement so doesn't restrict my grip in the turns, it's just good to know I won't be hyper-extending my wrist in a big compression or if me and my bike part ways unexpectedly |
Klausmann styling his way through the last of the winter leaves.
Dominique runs a pair of K-Coms as a preventative on both his MX and enduro bikes after struggling with ACL injury in the past.
Back at the HQ a couple of hours later and our brace is finally starting to take shape, it's time to cut the carbon shell in half because it's just the front section we'll be needing for this ACL injury specific brace design.
Kevin marks the cut lines that will determine the brace's final shape.
These are decided again referring back to the photos indicating the customer's leg musculature and kneecap position etc.
Rough cuts from the jig-saw are sanded completely smooth before the low-profile joints are screwed into place and all necessary straps attached.
So there we have it – the finished product, one custom Ortema K-Com knee brace specific for ACL injury.
All very impressive, but we had to ask; why spend so much time and energy in the production of a custom-fitted brace like this when there are other companies out there taking the easy route of standardised small, medium and large offerings for less money?
For Ortema it's the safety aspect; only a knee brace with the perfect fit can offer the highest level of protection against injury or the level of stability required after damage has been done. A precision tailoring also prevents the number one reason you might want to leave your brace at home – slippage. If a brace slides down the leg and doesn’t maintain the optimum position, it will inhibit movement and potentially also fail in its protective duties.
To sum, a custom brace means better fit, less movement inside the brace, no slipping so better protection. Bear in mind Ortema are also designing their knee braces for specific anatomical needs and different diagnosis (ACL, bilateral or PCL damage). As we've seen, only the lightest and strongest material (carbon and titanium) is used to build the K-Com and every customer can personalize their brace with their name, number, logo or even whole colorways. Pretty neat. Until next time Stuttgart...
Gunther is shown how to attach the protective knee cup to his finished brace so he can be ready to hit the trails and forget about his injury.
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Step2: Buy a custom brace.
Step 3: Go ride with your properly working knee.
(brags about weight reduction)
D3O is bullshit. Lesson learnt hard (or rather painful) way.
ortema-shop.us/knees/k-com--19.html
www.djoglobal.com/our-brands/donjoy
What does a pair of custom knee braces cost?
Isn`t mountainbike a 1st world orblem in general? You should get a new hobby...like pottery stuff or so.
I'm out.