Wearing a lace-up ankle brace was found to have minimal impact on the biomechanics of the knee, according to research presented at the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting in Atlanta.
The joints in the lower body work together as a kinetic chain, so if a restriction is placed on the hip or ankle, it could alter the mechanics of the knee and increase the risk for injury. The study, “The Effect of Lace-Up Ankle Bracing on Knee Biomechanics During a Jump Landing,” showed that the ankle brace had little impact on the knee.
“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,” Giselle Aerni, MD, lead researcher from the University of Connecticut, stated in a press release. “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.”
