THREE DIMENSIONAL KINEMATICS AND LOWER LIMB EMG OF ACL DEFICIENT KNEE JOINT WEARING A FUNCTIONAL KNEE BRACE DURING RUNNING

Abstract

Knee braces have been found to provide limited stability to the ACL deficient (ACLD) knee in situations where the ,knee is loaded during sporting movements. Variability of the gait cycle of the injured knee during strenuous activity with and without a functional knee brace can be expected. Three dimensional (3D) kinematic and electromyography (EMG) data were collected for ten consecutive gait cycles from each participant after running 6 min on a treadmill under both braced and unbraced conditions. Bracing significantly reduced the abduction angle throughout the gait cycle however without reducing the total range of motion (p < 0.05). The functional knee brace showed a consistent trend of setting the ACLD knee in an external rotation position, thus avoiding internal rotation. Our findings supported the mechanical contributions of the brace in limiting abduction and suppressing internal rotation for ACLD knee during strenuous activities.