title: Immediate effects of a knee brace with a constraint to knee extension on knee kinematics and ground reaction forces in a stop-jump task.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A small knee flexion angle in landing tasks was identified as a possible risk factor for noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injuries that are common in sports.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  A specially designed knee brace with a constraint to knee extension would significantly increase the knee flexion angle at the landing of athletic tasks preceded with horizontal movement components, such as stop-jump tasks.
  
  
  METHODS
  Repeated measure design for brace effects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three-dimensional videographic and force plate data were collected for 10 male and 10 female recreational athletes performing a stop-jump task with and without the specially designed brace. Knee flexion angle at landing, maximum knee flexion angle, and peak ground reaction forces during the stance phase of the stop-jump task were determined for each subject with and without the knee brace.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The knee brace decreased the knee flexion angle at the landing by 5 degrees for both genders but did not significantly affect the peak ground reaction forces during the landing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The specially designed knee brace may be a useful device in the prevention and rehabilitation of noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injuries in sports.
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27599-7135, USA. byu@med.unc.edu
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Herman
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Preston
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Donald T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Kirkendall
authors.forename: William E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Garrett
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001915:Braces; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D013177:Sports / Q000502:physiology