A low profile knee brace for use in the treatment of injury to a ligament, comprising:
- an upper thigh cuff component;
- a lower leg cuff component;
- a continuous non-removable liner encapsulating the upper thigh cuff component and the lower leg cuff component;
- bilateral hinge assemblies, wherein the upper thigh cuff component and the lower leg cuff component are pivotally attached to the hinge assemblies;
- a plurality of straps for securing the brace to a wearer's leg, wherein each of the plurality of straps is attached directly to a respective portion of the liner;
- a rigid upper member having a distal end pivotally coupled, at a fixed position on the distal end, to a separate fixed position on an upper portion of one of the hinge assemblies;
- and
- a rigid lower member having a proximal end pivotally coupled, at a fixed position on the proximal end, to a separate fixed position on a lower portion of the one of the hinge assemblies, each of the rigid upper member and the rigid lower member having a three dimensional structure comprising:
- a recessed channel extending centrally along substantially an entire respective length of extension of the rigid upper member or of the rigid lower member, wherein the recessed channel comprises substantially continuous portions of the rigid upper member or of the rigid lower member, the recessed channel is not an aperture, and the recessed channel is recessed inward toward the wearer's leg with respect to substantially an entire respective perimeter of the rigid upper member or of the rigid lower member, the recessed channel further comprising a substantially y-shaped portion disposed at the proximal end of the rigid lower member or at the distal end of the rigid upper member, the substantially y-shaped portion further raised outwardly away from the wearer's leg from adjacent portions of the recessed channel that separate the substantially y-shaped portion from the respective perimeter of the rigid upper member or of the rigid lower member;
- the respective perimeter of the rigid upper member or of the rigid lower member further comprising at least one portion further raised from adjacent portions of the respective perimeter and having a strap tab attached thereunder, the strap tab attached to a ring configured to receive a portion of a respective one of the plurality of straps such that the respective one of the plurality of straps sits in line with the respective rigid upper member or rigid lower member;
- wherein the rigid members comprise a metal or metal alloy selected from the group consisting of titanium, aluminum, steel, magnesium, and combinations thereof.