Do neoprene sleeves and prophylactic knee braces affect neuromuscular control and cutting agility?

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of neoprene sleeves (NSs) and prophylactic knee braces (PKBs) on neuromuscular control and cutting agility.

Design: Markerless motion-capture technology tracked subjects (1) without a brace as a control (2) with NSs and (3) with PKBs during single-leg drop vertical jump (SLDVJ), single-leg squat (SLS), Y-excursion, and cutting movements. Movements were recorded five times per bracing condition in three different sessions.

Setting: University laboratory.

Participants: Ten healthy, active subjects (5 male, 5 female; age range, 22-26 years).

Main Outcome Measures: Degrees of motion and time to completion.

Results: Use of NSs and PKBs reduced subjects' hip internal rotation in the loading phase of SLDVJ (p = 0.026, 0.02) and SLS (p = 0.005, <0.001), reduced knee flexion in the loading phase of SLDVJ (p = 0.038, <0.001), and reduced knee frontal plane abduction (FPA) with SLS (p = 0.015, 0.024) and Y-excursion (p = 0.002, 0.005) compared to control. Use of PKBs decreased subjects' hip internal rotation in the Y-excursion (p = 0.024) and reduced knee FPA in the SLDVJ loading phase (p = 0.014) compared to control. There was no difference in cutting agility for either group (p = 0.145, 0.347).

Conclusion: Both NSs and PKBs positively impacted neuromuscular control without impacting cutting agility.