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Medial Collateral Ligament Knee Sprains in College Football

Effectiveness of Preventive Braces

University of lowa

John W. Powell, PhD, ATC

University of lowa

Walter Smith, MED, ATC

Indiana University

Al Martindale, ATC,R

University of Illinois

Edward Crowley, LPT, ATC

University of lowa

Jeff Monroe, MS, ATC

Michigan State University

Russ Miller, PT, ATC

University of Michigan

John Connolly, PT, ATC

Northwestern University

Billy A. Hill, ATC

Ohio State University

Dennis Miller, MS, ATC, PT

Purdue University

Dennis Helwig, ATC

University of Wisconsin

Jim Marshall, ATC, RPT

University of Minnesota

This is the second of 2 articles on a 3-year investigation of medial collateral ligament sprains of the knee to as sess the effectiveness of prophylactic knee braces in NCAA Division I college football players. Position, string, type of session, and daily brace wear were re corded. The injury rates for braced and unbraced knees were used to create an incidence density ratio. The data were stratified and simultaneously controlled for posi tion, string, and session and evaluated for their statis tical significance. The 987 Big Ten players generated 155,772 knee exposures over the study period (50% braced). Noticeable differences existed in the rates of injury for the braced and unbraced knees in almost ev ery position during practices, depending on player or nonplayer status. When the influential factors of posi tion, string, and session are considered, there is a con sistent but not statistically significant tendency for the players wearing preventive knee braces to experience a lower injury rate than for their unbraced counterparts. For starters and substitutes in the line positions, as well as the linebackers and tight ends, there was a consis tent trend toward a lower injury rate in both practices and games. The braced players in the skill positions (backs/kickers), at least during games, exhibited a higher injury rate.

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