THE ROLE OF THE KNEE BRACE IN THE PREVENTION OF ANTERIOR KNEE PAIN SYNDROME

Our prospective study evaluates the use of a knee brace with a silicon patellar support ring as a method of preventing anterior knee pain fr om developing in young persons undergoing strenuous physical exercise. We studied 60 young athletes, who qualified for a strenuous physical training course and who had not suffered from anterior knee pain previ ously. Twenty-seven subjects were in the brace group and 33 were in th e nonbrace control group. The incidence of anterior knee pain syndrome increased with the intensity of exertion as the study progressed; i.e ., subjects ran 6 km in the Ist week, gradually increasing each week u p to 42 km/week at the 8th week. Yet, there was a significant reductio n in the incidence of the syndrome at the end of the study in male ath letes who had applied the braces before exercise sessions and in the b race group as a whole, compared with the control group. Prophylactic u se of the brace, as described, did not reduce the ability of the athle tes who wore braces to improve their physical fitness parameters in re sponse to exercise. These data indicate that the use of a brace may be an effective way to prevent the development of anterior knee pain syn dromes in persons participating in strenuous and intensive physical ex ercise.