title: Secondary effects of knee braces on the intracompartmental pressure in the anterior tibial compartment.
abstract: In 31 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 33 years we investigated the intracompartmental pressure in the anterior tibial compartment while running on a treadmill with, and without, a functional knee brace. All volunteers performed two test series with a constant running speed of 8 km/h. Prior to running, the pressure was documented in the supine, sitting and standing position as well as during running. The intracompartmental pressure in the supine position was significantly less without a brace compared to the pressure with a brace. This was also true for the sitting position and the standing position. While running on the treadmill the average pressure was also significantly higher with, than without, a brace.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Running with a functional knee brace leads to increased intracompartmental pressure in the anterior tibial compartment and, as a consequence, may lead to a chronic compartment syndrome. Wearing a functional knee brace may cause secondary muscle ischemia and may be one reason for the increased incidence of injuries in athletes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Westfälische Wilhelms-University Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jerosch
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hoffstetter
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000868:Anterior Compartment Syndrome / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D001915:Braces / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011312:Pressure; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology