Do Prophylactic Knee Braces Protect the Knee Against Impacts or Tibial Moments? An In Vitro Multisensory Study

Knee braces are prescribed by physicians to protect the knee from various loading conditions during sports or after surgery, even though the effect of bracing for various loading scenarios remains unclear.

To extensively investigate whether bracing protects the knee against impacts from the lateral, medial, anterior, or posterior directions at different heights as well as against tibial moments.

Controlled laboratory study.

Eight limb specimens were exposed to (1) subcritical impacts from the medial, lateral, anterior, and posterior directions at 3 heights (center of the joint line and 100 mm inferior and superior) and (2) internal/external torques. Using a prophylactic brace, both scenarios were conducted under braced and unbraced conditions with moderate muscle loads and intact soft tissue. The change in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) strain, joint acceleration in the tibial and femoral bones (for impacts only), and joint kinematics were recorded and analyzed.

Bracing reduced joint acceleration for medial and lateral center impacts. The ACL strain change was decreased for medial superior impacts and increased for anterior inferior impacts. Impacts from the posterior direction had substantially less effect on the ACL strain change and joint acceleration than anterior impacts. Bracing had no effect on the ACL strain change or kinematics under internal or external moments.

Our results indicate that the effect of bracing during impacts depends on the direction and height of the impact and is partly positive, negative, or neutral and that soft tissue absorbs impact energy. An effect during internal or external torque was not detected.

Bracing in contact sports with many lateral or medial impacts might be beneficial, whereas athletes who play sports with rotational moments on the knee or anterior impacts may be safer without a brace.