Affiliations: [a] Military Hospital Queen Astrid, Department of Physical
Medicine and Rehabilitation, Brussels, Belgium | [b] Ghent University, Faculty of Medicine and Health
Sciences, Gent, Belgium
Note: [] Address for correspondence: D. Van Tiggelen, Military Hospital
Queen Astrid, Dept of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Bruystraat 2, 1120
Brussels, Belgium. E-mail: Damien.VanTiggelen@mil.be
Abstract: Background: Previous studies have indicated that wearing a
patellofemoral brace during strenuous training resulted in a decreased
incidence of anterior knee pain (AKP). However whether this effect is derived
from quadriceps enhancement remains unknown. Study design: Randomized controlled clinical trial. Methods: Ninety-eight military recruits, 35 'with-brace' and 63
without, underwent concentric isokinetic tests at 60 and 240°/s of the
quadriceps prior to and following a 6-week basic military training (BMT). The
randomly selected 35 subjects 'with brace' received a pair of patellofemoral
braces (On-Track, DJ Ortho) and were instructed to wear these braces throughout
training. Results: Baseline strength characteristics of the quadriceps were
not significantly different between the braced and non-braced group (p >
0.05). No significant time-effect was observed in the braced group. There was a
significant decrease in quadriceps strength at 60°/s after BMT in the
non-braced subjects (p < 0.001) while at this speed these subjects had a
significantly (p =0.02) lower strength compared to their non-braced
counterparts. Conclusion: Patellofemoral bracing may be effective in preventing a
decrease in quadriceps strength after prolonged strenuous training.
