The Effect of a Novel Dynamic Hamstring Brace on Muscle and Athletic Performance Tests among Young Basketball Players

A hamstring injury is the most incurred musculoskeletal injury in sports, with high recurrence rates. This study evaluated a novel dynamic hamstring brace on the athletic performance of young male basketball players. The study included 13 healthy adolescent basketball players (aged M = 14 ± 0.6 yrs) who underwent two sets of six performance tests on two different days. Participants wore the dynamic brace for one set of tests (research) and then performed the same tests without the brace (control). Isolated hamstring tests included the end-range hamstring-strength test and the single-leg bridge test. Performance tests included horizontal explosive 10-m and 20-m sprints, vertical explosive counter-movement jumps, and squat jump tests. The findings indicate improved outcomes when wearing the dynamic brace compared to the control condition. A significant increase was seen in the single-leg bridge test (M = 30 ± 4 and 23.5 ± 5 repetitions, respectively, p < 0.01), while a significant decrease was observed in the 10-m sprint test (M = 2.01 ± 0.1 and 1.88 ± 0.1 s, respectively, p < 0.05). No significant differences were found in other tests. In conclusion, the novel brace presented in this study could reduce hamstring injuries, with little impact on athletic performance.