HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by DeVita, P. Articles by Torry, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by DeVita, P. Articles by Torry, M. Related Collections Reconstruction Kinematics and kinetics

Functional Knee Brace Effects During Walking in Patients With Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Paul DeVita, PhD^*,, Tally Lassiter, Jr, MD, Tibor Hortobagyi, PhD^* and Michael Torry, PhD

^* Department of Exercise and Sport Science, East Carolina University
Eastern Orthopaedic Group, Inc., Greenville, North Carolina
Steadman Hawkins Sports Medicine Foundation, Vail, Colorado

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Paul DeVita, PhD, Biomechanics Laboratory, East Carolina University, 332 Ward Sports Medicine Building, Greenville, NC 27858

The purpose of this study was to compare lower extremity joint kinematics and kinetics during walking with and without a functional knee brace in patients with recent anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions. Seven volunteers walked at 1.26 m/s with and without one of two functional knee braces 3 weeks after surgery. Eleven uninjured subjects were also tested as a control group. Video and ground-reaction data were collected and combined with inverse dynamics to estimate the joint positions, moments, and powers during the stance phase. Patients with ligament reconstructions were more erect with the brace, using 19% less knee flexion compared with walking without the brace. Areas under the internal extensor moment curve (angular impulse) and power curve (work) at the hip increased 40% and 44%, respectively, while walking with the brace. Extensor angular impulse decreased 41% at the knee while using the brace, and plantar flexor angular impulse and work increased 21% and 30%, respectively, at the ankle. While walking with the brace, the patients still had different kinematics, moments, and powers than the control subjects. The reduced extensor moment at the knee in the braced condition indicated that the load on the recently reconstructed ligament was reduced and that the brace protected the ligament during the stance phase of walking. We concluded that functional knee braces may be one means of developing neuromuscular adaptations during gait after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. K.H. Wu, G. Y.F. Ng, and A. F.T. Mak Effects of Knee Bracing on the Sensorimotor Function of Subjects with Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Am. J. Sports Med., September 1, 2001; 29(5): 641 - 645. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]