Effects of functional knee bracing on muscle-firing patterns about the chronic anterior cruciate ligament-deficient knee.

Objective: To examine the effects of functional knee bracing on the muscle-firing patterns about the chronic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)-deficient knee in successful brace users.

Design: Cross-sectional comparative clinical trial.

Setting: Motion analysis laboratory.

Participants: Ten active individuals with unilateral, isolated, chronic (>18mo postinjury), ACL-deficient knees who subjectively reported improved function with a functional knee bracing.

Intervention: Each subject completed 3 single-leg hop maneuvers on their ACL-deficient knee with and without their knee brace while surface electromyographic activity was recorded from the quadriceps, hamstring, and gastrocnemius muscles.

Main Outcome Measures: Muscle onset latency.

Results: Brace use significantly delayed the average onset of vastus lateralis activation before landing (123+/-47ms vs 109+/-30ms, P<.001), though significant interindividual variations existed. Bracing significantly altered the onset latency in 1 or more muscles in 9 of 10 subjects. In 4 subjects, a favorable change in the firing pattern was seen, whereas only 1 subject exhibited an unfavorable change. Without bracing, 5 of the 10 subjects fired the hamstrings or gastrocnemius muscles first; with bracing, 7 of 10 fired these muscles first.

Conclusions: Brace use in this population did not consistently result in more favorable muscle firing patterns during the single-leg hop maneuver. Interindividual responses to brace use indicate the need for further research to investigate the multiple strategies that may exist to stabilize the ACL-deficient knee. In the meantime, functional knee brace use among ACL-deficient patients remains empirical.