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. 2025 Jun 16;12(6):661.
doi: 10.3390/bioengineering12060661.

Running and Jumping After Muscle Fatigue in Subjects with a History of Knee Injury: What Are the Acute Effects of Wearing a Knee Brace on Biomechanics?

Tobias Heß  1   2 , Thomas L Milani  2 , Jan Stoll  1 , Christian Mitschke  1
Affiliations

Running and Jumping After Muscle Fatigue in Subjects with a History of Knee Injury: What Are the Acute Effects of Wearing a Knee Brace on Biomechanics?

Tobias Heß et al. Bioengineering (Basel). .

Abstract

The knee is one of the most frequently injured joints, involving various structures. To prevent reinjury after rehabilitation, braces are commonly used. However, most studies on knee supports focus on subjects with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries and do not account for muscle fatigue, which typically occurs during prolonged intense training and can significantly increase the risk of injury. Hence, this study investigates the acute effects of wearing a knee brace on biomechanics in subjects with a history of various unilateral knee injuries or pain under muscle fatigue. In total, 50 subjects completed an intense fatigue protocol and then performed counter-movement jumps and running tests on a force plate while tracking kinematics with a marker-based 3D motion analysis system. Additionally, subjects filled out a visual analog scale (VAS) to assess knee pain and stability. Tests were conducted on the injured leg with and without a knee brace (Sports Knee Support, Bauerfeind AG, Zeulenroda-Triebes, Germany) and on the healthy leg. Results indicated that wearing the knee brace stabilized knee movement in the frontal plane, with a significant reduction in maximal medio-lateral knee acceleration and knee abduction moment during running and jumping. The brace also normalized loading on the injured leg. We observed higher maximal knee flexion moments, which were associated with increased vertical ground reaction forces, segment velocities, and knee flexion angles. Subjects reported less pain and greater stability while wearing the knee brace. Therefore, we confirm that wearing a knee brace on the injured leg improves joint biomechanics by enhancing stability and kinematics and reducing pain during running and jumping, even with muscle fatigue. Consequently, wearing a knee brace after a knee joint injury may reduce the risk of reinjury.

Keywords: counter-movement jump; knee brace; knee joint injury; knee joint moment; knee joint stability; muscle fatigue; pain; rehabilitation; running.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in writing the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Subject performing the running (A) and jumping (B) tests on the force plate. For motion tracking 16 reflective markers (Plug-in Gait lower body marker set) were attached bilaterally to the pelvis (spina iliaca anterior superior and spina iliaca posterior superior), thighs, knee joints, tibiae, ankle joints, and toes. From the force plate and Vicon data, biomechanical parameters such as maximal vertical ground reaction force, ground contact time, maximal knee flexion angle, and maximal knee flexion moment were extracted. Note that for the knee moment, positive values represent flexion moments, while negative values indicate extension moments.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of the three measurement conditions (healthy leg, injured leg, and injured leg with knee brace) for the biomechanical parameters: (A) maximal knee flexion moment, (B) maximal knee abduction moment, and (C) maximal medio-lateral knee acceleration for the running test.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of the three measurement conditions (healthy leg, injured leg, and injured leg with knee brace) for the biomechanical parameters: (A) maximal knee flexion moment, (B) maximal knee abduction moment, and (C) maximal medio-lateral knee acceleration for the jumping test.
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