Citation

Salata MJ, Gibbs AE, Sekiya JK. Sports Health 2010; 2(5): 375-379.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1941738110378986

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Context: Knee injuries, particularly of the medial collateral ligament (MCL), are the most common injury sustained in American football. In 1979, Anderson et al described a knee brace that could protect uninjured knees from MCL injuries resulting from lateral impact. Since then, a number of light and free-moving bracing devices have been developed. However, the efficacy of prophylactic knee bracing remains in question. Objective: A systematic review of the efficacy of prophylactic knee bracing in preventing MCL injuries in football players. Data Sources: Based on MedSearch and PubMed, articles from 1985 to November 2009 were identified with the following keywords and their combinations: prophylactic, prevent injury, knee brace, prevention, medial collateral ligament, MCL, football, and bracing. Study Selection: One randomized controlled trial (level 1 study) and 5 prospective cohort studies (level 2 studies) were selected. Results: The results of the studies were inconsistent; only 1 study showed that prophylactic knee bracing significantly reduced MCL injuries (P < .05). In contrast, 2 studies found that knee bracing was associated with an increase in knee injuries. Conclusions: Prophylactic bracing in American football has not consistently reduced MCL injuries. There remains a lack of evidence to support the routine use of prophylactic knee bracing in uninjured knees. There is limited high-level evidence, bias in the available literature, and confounding variables that limit the current literature.