Effects of knee bracing on the functional performance of patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Objective: To compare the functional performance of subjects with unilateral anterior cruciate Ligament (ACL) reconstruction, Design: Cross-sectional comparative clinical trial. Setting: A physical therapy outpatient department. Subjects: Thirty-one subjects with unilateral ACL reconstruction for more than 5 months. Intervention: Patients under 3 bracing conditions: (1) Don-Joy Brace, (2) mechanical placebo brace, or (3) no brace. Running and turning 10 times on a 22-meter figure-8 runway, and running and jumping (and landing) on a semicircular path. Main Outcome Measures: Speed of running and turning, speed of running and jumping, and accuracy of landing after the jump. Results: Subjects performed similarly in conditions 1 and 2 in all the tests, but the speeds of running and turning were significantly slower in conditions 1 and 2 than condition 3 (p = .008-.000). Results of the run and jump tests were not different among all conditions. Conclusion: Knee bracing may not improve functional performance of subjects 5 months after ACL reconstruction. The use of such a brace could actually slow down running and turning, irrespective of the mechanical constraints of the brace. These functional outcomes need to be noted when such a brace is used on this group of subjects.