Prophylactic Bracing Has No Effect on Lower Extremity Alignment or Functional Performance.

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Sports Medicine
• Orthopedics

Background:

• Prophylactic ankle bracing is widely adopted in physical activities.
• Understanding its biomechanical effects is crucial for injury prevention and performance optimization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of ankle bracing on lower extremity mechanics.
• To assess changes during the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) and Sage Sway Index (SSI) tests.

Main Methods:

• Thirty physically active participants performed LESS and SSI tests under braced and unbraced conditions.
• Data collected included LESS errors, SSI errors, and SSI time.
• The Wilcoxon signed-rank test analyzed differences between conditions (p<0.05).

Main Results:

• No significant differences were found between braced and unbraced conditions for LESS errors (p=0.72).
• No significant differences were observed for SSI time (p=0.72) or SSI errors (p=0.71).
• Ankle bracing did not subjectively alter lower extremity alignment or postural stability.

Conclusions:

• Ankle bracing did not substantially affect proximal lower kinetic chain mechanics during the tested protocols.
• The findings indicate that prophylactic ankle braces may not significantly alter biomechanical assessments of lower extremity alignment or stability.