| HOME | HELP | CONTACT US | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
|
|
|
|||||||
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools. |
|||||||||
Athletic Treatment Center, Department of Athletics, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Athletic Treatment Center, Department of Athletics, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Athletic Treatment Center, Department of Athletics, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
American football can be harmful to knees. In an at tempt to reduce the number and severity of knee injuries, the intercollegiate football team at the Univer sity of Arizona (Pacific Ten Conference) has been using protective braces since 1981. Objective evaluation of the effectiveness of this program is the purpose of this study. All linemen, offensive and defensive, as well as linebackers and tight ends were considered to be the players at greatest risk and were required to use the braces. The brace used was the Anderson Knee Sta bler.
Each player at each practice session or game was counted as one exposure. During the 4 years of brace use, there were 28,191 exposures, while the control group numbered 29,293 exposures. The data were analyzed from the perspectives of days lost from prac tice or games, player's position, the type and severity of injury, and the rate of injury per 100 players per season. Players at risk showed no trend to change in injury rate. Of the players at risk, the type and severity of injury in nonbraced and in braced groups were similar. A significant finding in players at risk was a two fold increase in knee ligament injury rate per 100 players when compared to rates for an entire team. The number of season-ending injuries remained unchanged. Prac tice time missed for third-degree medial ligament, and for medial meniscus injuries, was significantly lower in the braced group, but this was due to improved treat ment techniques initiated in 1981. Seven NCAA rule changes, directed at reducing knee injuries, have been introduced since 1981. Neither the rule changes nor the braces nor the combination thereof have had any apparent effect on the trend to knee injury in this study. We conclude that, in this study, knee injury prevention in a college football team was not improved by prophy lactic knee bracing.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. Najibi and J. P. Albright The Use of Knee Braces, Part 1: Prophylactic Knee Braces in Contact Sports Am. J. Sports Med., April 1, 2005; 33(4): 602 - 611. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. K. Flynn, C. L. Pedersen, T. B. Birmingham, A. Kirkley, D. Jackowski, and P. J. Fowler The Familial Predisposition Toward Tearing the Anterior Cruciate Ligament: A Case Control Study Am. J. Sports Med., January 1, 2005; 33(1): 23 - 28. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. J. Martin and Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness Technical Report: Knee Brace Use in the Young Athlete Pediatrics, August 1, 2001; 108(2): 503 - 507. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. E. Hunter Skiing Injuries Am. J. Sports Med., May 1, 1999; 27(3): 381 - 389. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. F. Ettlinger, R. J. Johnson, and J. E. Shealy A Method to Help Reduce the Risk of Serious Knee Sprains Incurred in Alpine Skiing Am. J. Sports Med., September 1, 1995; 23(5): 531 - 537. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. R. Styf, O. Lundin, and D. H. Gershuni Effects of a Functional Knee Brace on Leg Muscle Function Am. J. Sports Med., December 1, 1994; 22(6): 830 - 834. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. M. Daniel, M. L. Stone, B. E. Dobson, D. C. Fithian, D. J. Rossman, and K. R. Kaufman Fate of the ACL-injured Patient: A Prospective Outcome Study Am. J. Sports Med., September 1, 1994; 22(5): 632 - 644. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. F. LaPrade and Q. M. Burnett II Femoral Intercondylar Notch Stenosis and Correlation to Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries: A Prospective Study Am. J. Sports Med., March 1, 1994; 22(2): 198 - 203. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. P. Albright, J. W. Powell, W. Smith, A. Martindale, E. Crowley, J. Monroe, R. Miller, J. Connolly, B. A. Hill, D. Miller, et al. Medial Collateral Ligament Knee Sprains in College Football: Brace Wear Preferences and Injury Risk Am. J. Sports Med., January 1, 1994; 22(1): 2 - 11. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. P. Albright, J. W. Powell, W. Smith, A. Martindale, E. Crowley, J. Monroe, R. Miller, J. Connolly, B. A. Hill, D. Miller, et al. Medial Collateral Ligament Knee Sprains in College Football: Effectiveness of Preventive Braces Am. J. Sports Med., January 1, 1994; 22(1): 12 - 18. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. R. Osternig and R. N. Robertson Effects of prophylactic knee bracing on lower extremity joint position and muscle activation during running Am. J. Sports Med., September 1, 1993; 21(5): 733 - 737. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. R. Erickson, K. Yasuda, B. Beynnon, R. Johnson, and M. Pope An in vitro dynamic evaluation of prophylactic knee braces during lateral impact loading Am. J. Sports Med., January 1, 1993; 21(1): 26 - 35. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. E. Paulos, P. W. Cawley, and E. P. France Impact biomechanics of lateral knee bracing: The anterior cruciate ligament Am. J. Sports Med., July 1, 1991; 19(4): 337 - 342. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. T. Burks, B. G. Bean, R. Marcus, and H. B. Barker Analysis of athletic performance with prophylactic ankle devices Am. J. Sports Med., March 1, 1991; 19(2): 104 - 106. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Sitler, C. J. Ryan, L. W. Hopkinson, L. J. Wheeler, J. Santomier, L. R. Kolb, and C. D. Polley The efficacy of a prophylactic knee brace to reduce knee injuries in football: A prospective, randomized study at West Point Am. J. Sports Med., June 1, 1990; 18(3): 310 - 315. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. Engstrom, M. Forssblad, C. Johansson, and H. Tornkvist Does a major knee injury definitely sideline an elite soccer player? Am. J. Sports Med., January 1, 1990; 18(1): 101 - 105. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. E. Baker, E. V, C. Orthotist, S. P. Bogosian, F. W. Werner, M. Mech Eng, and D. Murphy The effect of knee braces on lateral impact loading of the knee Am. J. Sports Med., March 1, 1989; 17(2): 182 - 186. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. E. Baker, E. V, C. Orthotist, S. Bogosian IV, F. W. Werner, M. Mech Eng, and D. Murphy A biomechanical study of the static stabilizing effect of knee braces on medial stability Am. J. Sports Med., December 1, 1987; 15(6): 566 - 570. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. E. Paulos, E. P. France, T. D. Rosenberg, G. Jayaraman, P. J. Abbott, and J. Jaen The biomechanics of lateral knee bracing: Part I: Response of the valgus restraints to loading Am. J. Sports Med., September 1, 1987; 15(5): 419 - 429. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. G. Garrick and R. K. Requa Prophylactic knee bracing Am. J. Sports Med., September 1, 1987; 15(5): 471 - 476. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. D. Rovere, H. A. Haupt, and C. S. Yates Prophylactic knee bracing in college football Am. J. Sports Med., March 1, 1987; 15(2): 111 - 116. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | CONTACT US | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
