Knee Sleeve Research Articles

Effect of a neoprene sleeve on knee joint kinesthesis: influence of different testing procedures.

Objectives of this study were to examine the perceived sense of knee joint position during selected test situations, and to evaluate the proposed kinesthetic effect of a neoprene knee sleeve during these test situations. Fifty-nine young healthy subjects (39 females and 20 males) attempted to replicate target knee joint angles using active and passive knee extension movements completed in sitting (nonaxially loaded) situations, and during active knee extension movements completed in supine while applying a load of 15% body weight through the long axis of the tibia (axially loaded). The criterion measure used was the absolute difference between target and reproduced angles, averaged over five attempts (Average absolute difference: AAD). A three-way ANOVA (two genders by three test situations by two sleeve conditions), with repeated measures on the last two factors, indicated a significant main effect for test situation and sleeve condition (P < 0.05), but not for gender. There was also a significant test situation by sleeve condition interaction (P < 0.05). Post-hoc analysis indicated that the AAD score during the active nonaxially loaded test situation without the sleeve was significantly greater than AAD scores for all other tests (P < 0.01). Pre-existing differences in knee joint kinesthesis observed during different contexts of limb movement must be recognized before various interventions, including the effect of knee supports, can be adequately interpreted. Because knee joint position sense was attenuated during voluntary active movement, and because this attenuation was ameliorated by the use of a sleeve, future studies evaluating the kinesthetic effects of knee bracing may benefit from using active movements. However, since the sleeve did not affect performance during the axially loaded test situation, future studies should also evaluate the relationship between tests of knee joint kinesthesis and other more functional tests of neuromuscular performance.

Patellar Disorders

Patellar disorders are common and painful. Although in many cases no precise cause for the pain is identified, poor patellar tracking, leading to imperfect distribution of forces in the patello-femoral joint, is a frequent finding. Tightness of the lateral retinaculum or anatomic predisposition for lateral tracking (e.g., femoral anteversion or an elevated Q angle) also places patients at increased risk for patellar pain. Most patients with patellar disorders will improve with simple programs of activity modification, therapy, and other nonsurgical modalities. Nonoperative therapy can include short arc quadriceps strengthening and stretching regimens, the application of ice, and the use of knee sleeves. Surgical treatment spans a wide range of choices, each tailored to specific diagnoses. These operations are reserved only for patients for whom conservative measures fail.

Efficacy of Knee Sleeves in the Management of Patellofemoral Dysfunction

Efficacy of Knee Sleeves in the Management of Patellofemoral Dysfunction

Kinematics of Gait in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Implications for Orthotic Management

Ambulation requires modulation of the center of gravity (CG) to facilitate the con version of potential to kinetic energy necessary for locomotion. Postural adaptations serve this process. The weakness and lower extremity contractures found in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) hinder these adjustments. The cascade of postural changes necessary to keep the patient upright results in primary, secondary, and compensatory deformities. These permit dynamic postural accommodations that minimize inertial forces and position body segments to maintain upright balance.A judicious choice of orthotic aids, such as reinforced knee sleeves for quadri ceps assist, a tone balancing supramalleolar appliance designed to stimulate dorsiflex ion while inhibiting plantar flexion at the ankle, thus delaying equinus contracture requiring surgery, light tubular ankle-foot orthosis (with or without a floor reaction feature) or knee-ankle-foot orthoses, which provide support after tendon release, per mit patients to continue to ut...

Knee Bracing: Effects on Proprioception

McNair PJ, Stanley SN, Strauss GR. Knee bracing: effects on proprioception. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 1996;77:287-9. Objective: To examine the effects of a knee sleeve type brace on the proprioceptive ability of subjects with normal knees during a dynamic tracking task. Design: A 2 × 2 Latin square cross over design; in each Latin square, subjects were matched for age and gender. Setting: An institution of focused on clinical education. Participants: Twenty subjects with no musculoskeletal or neurological conditions. Intervention: Each subject performed a tracking task on a Kin-Com dynamometer. Angle and force data from the Kin-Com and angle data from an electrogoniometer were sampled at 100Hz using a data acquisition program on a PC computer. The subjects were blindfolded and the limb attached to the Kin-Com was moved prassively by the dynamometer. Subjects were instructed to follow the movement as closely as possible with the other limb (the tracking limb). Subject performed two trials, one without knee bracing and another that involved the application of a brace to the tracking limb. Outcome Measure: The magnitude of the error in tracking was established by taking the difference of the active and passively moving limbs and calculating the root mean square (RMS) of the difference. Results: The findings showed that there was an improvement of 11% in tracking when subjects wore the knee brace ( p < .05). Conclusion: Alterations in proprioception as a result of bracing may be partly responsible for the improvement in knee injury statistics reported in some studies.

Treatment of Overuse Patellofemoral Pain Prospective Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial in a Military Setting

The efficacy of treatment of overuse patellofemoral pain with an elastic knee sleeve with a silicone patellar ring was compared with a simple elastic sleeve and with no treatment in a prospective study of 395 army recruits. During 14 weeks of basic training, 84 knees were diagnosed as having overuse patellofemoral pain. Recruits treated with a simple elastic knee sleeve had a statistically significant better comfort score and more had their pain resolved by the end of training than those treated with elastic knee sleeves with a silicone patellar ring. The mean pain score at the end of training decreased more among recruits who were treated with a simple elastic knee sleeve than among recruits who received no treatment, but this difference was not significant. Among the treatment options tried, the simple elastic knee sleeve was no more effective than no treatment at all, but it was more effective than the more elaborate patellar brace.

A Precise Approach to Anterior Knee Pain

I brief Accurate diagnosis and specific treatment will lead to a good outcome for most patients who have anterior knee pain. The most common etiologies are patellar tracking disorders and instability; chondral and osteochondral disorders; tendinitis, bursitis, and synovitis; and traction apophysitis. Most of these can be treated conservatively with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, flexibility and strengthening exercises, moist heat before exercise and ice afterward, and various types of knee sleeves.