Giselle Aerni, MD presented her research project "The Effect of Lace-Up Ankle Bracing on Knee Biomechanics During a Jump Landing" at the 21st American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA on April 24, 2012.
"Ankle braces are common in the sport community and there has been concern that stabilizing the ankle joint might alter biomechanics further up the kinetic chain," said Dr. Aerni. "Our research showed that knee biomechanics known to be risk factors for ACL injury did not appear to be negatively impacted by wearing a lace-up ankle brace."
The joints in the lower body - hip, knee and ankle work together as a kinetic chain, which means each joint influences the movement of the other joints as a collective group. If there is a restriction in the hip or ankle that may put the knee joint at a compromised position and increase the risk for injury.