Medial Collateral Ligament Knee Sprains in College Football

Abstract

This is the second of 2 articles on a 3-year investigation of medial collateral ligament sprains of the knee to assess the effectiveness of prophylactic knee braces in NCAA Division I college football players. Position, string, type of session, and daily brace wear were recorded. The injury rates for braced and unbraced knees were used to create an incidence density ratio. The data were stratified and simultaneously controlled for position, string, and session and evaluated for their statistical 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 every position during practices, depending on player or nonplayer status. When the influential factors of position, string, and session are considered, there is a consistent 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 consistent 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.

Do Knee Braces Prevent Ski Knee Injuries?

“…The other study, a non-randomized level 2 prospective cohort study on protection against medial collateral ligament sprains in 987 collegiate football players, showed a non-significant trend towards lower injury rate in braced players (27).…”

Knee Bracing in Sports Medicine

“…The dual-hinge PKB worn during the testing adversely affected the performance scores in the female, but not the male, athletes. 15 Two well-designed prospective epidemiological studies, the so-called West Point Study 16 and the Big Ten Conference Study, 17,18 provide insight into the efficacy of the PKB to reduce knee injuries during athletics.…”

“…Albright et al 17,18 performed a prospective, nonrandomized, 3-year, multicenter study of MCL sprains in college football players that were either braced (offthe-shelf PKB) or unbraced at the time of injury. The players' field position, sting (starter/substitutes/ nonplayers), and the athletic session (game/practice) influenced the probability of brace use and the risk of MCL injury while unbraced.…”

Current Evidence and Clinical Applications of Therapeutic Knee Braces

“…The study reveals that brace use was associated with a reduction in the number of MCL injuries, but not in the severity of injury. In a descriptive study of 987 Big Ten Conference football players, Albright and colleagues 24 compare the injury rates in players of the same position and in the same playing conditions, with or without the use of prophylactic knee braces. A nonsignificant but consistent reduction in MCL injuries was found for braced players in every position and string during practice.…”