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Functional knee brace use effect on peak vertical ground reaction forces during drop jump landing

  • Knee
  • Published:
Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy Aims and scope

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of the study was to investigate the landing strategies used by non-injured athletes while wearing functional knee braces (FKB, BR condition) during a drop jump task compared with non-injured, non-braced (NBR condition) subjects and also to ascertain whether accommodation to a FKB was possible by non-injured BR subjects.

Methods

Twenty-three healthy male provincial and national basketball and field hockey athletes (age, 19.4 ± 3.0 years) were tested. Each subject was provided with a custom-fitted FKB. Five NBR testing sessions were performed over 3 days followed by five BR testing sessions also over 3 days, for a total of 17.5 h of testing per condition. Each subject performed eight trials of the drop jump task during each testing session per condition. Single-leg peak vertical ground reaction forces (PVGRF) and the time to PVGRF were recorded for each NBR and BR trail.

Results

The BR group mean PVGRF at landing was significantly lower (1,628 ± 405 N, 2.1 ± 0.5 BW versus 1,715 ± 403 N, 2.2 ± 0.5 BW, F 1,22 = 6.83, P = 0.01) compared with NBR subjects, respectively. The group mean time to PVGRF was not statistically longer during the BR condition (F 1,22 = 0.967, P = 0.3). Further, an accommodation trend was noted as percent performance difference decreased with continued FKB use.

Conclusions

The significantly lower group mean PVGRF while using a FKB could keep traumatic forces from reaching the ACL until the active neuromuscular restraints are activated to provide protection to the knee joint ligaments. Also, accommodation to FKB is possible after approximately 14.0 h of brace use. The results of this paper will assist clinicians in providing information to their patients regarding a FKB ability to offer protection to an ACL-deficient knee or to address concerns about early muscle fatigue, energy expenditure, heart rate, and decrease in performance level.

Level of evidence

Prospective study, Level I.

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Notes

  1. Four subjects arrived late for the scheduled testing session and were not included in this test. The four subjects completed the remaining tests listed in Fig. 1.

  2. The group mean performance level is an average of all test sessions within each group (NBR and BR) of the respective outcome measure.

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Acknowledgments

Many thanks to all the subjects for volunteering for this research project. Also, my deepest appreciation to Dr. Sanderson for allowing access to his Biomechanics Laboratory, to H. Lin, R. Cohee, and C. Munro for allowing access to gymnasiums, and to M. Gibson for organizing room bookings on the UBC Campus, as well as to A. Black (SunnyHill Hospital) for agreeing to accommodate our research testing if the primary testing site was not available. To I. Arthur (ORFU), and J. LaBreche and Dr. G. Sleivert (Pacific Sport Centre) my gratitude for providing the required testing apparatus. To T. Prior (Össur, Canada) many thanks for coordinating the payment plan for the FKBs. Without your assistance, completion of this project could not have been possible.

Conflict of interest

None of the authors have a financial conflict of interest with regards to this study and do not endorse one manufacturer over another.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ACTIN Health and Rehabilitation Inc., 5767 Oak Street, Vancouver, BC, V6M 2V7, Canada

    Neetu Rishiraj

  2. Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Centre (Primary Care), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Jack E. Taunton & Robert Lloyd-Smith

  3. Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Centre (Orthopaedics), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    William Regan

  4. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Brian Niven

  5. Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Robert Woollard

Authors
  1. Neetu Rishiraj
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  2. Jack E. Taunton
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  3. Robert Lloyd-Smith
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  4. William Regan
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  5. Brian Niven
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  6. Robert Woollard
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Correspondence to Neetu Rishiraj.

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Rishiraj, N., Taunton, J.E., Lloyd-Smith, R. et al. Functional knee brace use effect on peak vertical ground reaction forces during drop jump landing. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 20, 2405–2412 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-012-1911-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-012-1911-z

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