Effects of prophylactic ankle and knee braces on leg stiffness during hopping
Hiroaki Hobara, Satoru Hashizume, Yoshiyuki Kobayashi Human Informatics Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan Abstract: During human movement, the leg can be represented as a mechanical spring, with its stiffness potentially contributing t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Dove Medical Press
2017-04-01
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| Series: | Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.dovepress.com/effects-of-prophylactic-ankle-and-knee-braces-on-leg-stiffness-during--peer-reviewed-article-OAJSM |
| _version_ | 1819268559073705984 |
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| author | Hobara H Hashizume S Kobayashi Y |
| author_facet | Hobara H Hashizume S Kobayashi Y |
| author_sort | Hobara H |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hiroaki Hobara, Satoru Hashizume, Yoshiyuki Kobayashi Human Informatics Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan Abstract: During human movement, the leg can be represented as a mechanical spring, with its stiffness potentially contributing to sports performance and injury prevention. Although many individuals perform athletic activities with joint stabilizers, little is known about the effects of prophylactic lower extremity braces on leg stiffness. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of ankle and/or knee braces on leg stiffness measured during one-legged ­hopping at a range of frequencies. Thirteen male participants performed one-legged hopping with their dominant leg at frequencies of 2.2, 2.6, and 3.0 Hz. All participants were randomly tested under the following four brace conditions: 1) no brace (control), 2) prophylactic ankle brace, 3) prophylactic knee brace, and 4) prophylactic ankle and knee braces. Based on a spring–mass model, leg stiffness was calculated using data from an accelerometer. It was found that leg stiffness increased with increasing hopping frequency for each brace condition. However, there were no significant differences in leg stiffness among the four brace conditions at the three hopping frequencies. Since some level of leg stiffness is needed for optimal athletic performance and training, these results suggest that ankle and knee braces do not significantly interfere with dynamic hopping activities. Keywords: spring–mass model, injury prevention, compensatory strategy |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T21:34:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ea9b7cded05f4a4480c5901e2fdf7f58 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1179-1543 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T21:34:59Z |
| publishDate | 2017-04-01 |
| publisher | Dove Medical Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-ea9b7cded05f4a4480c5901e2fdf7f582022-12-21T17:30:21ZengDove Medical PressOpen Access Journal of Sports Medicine1179-15432017-04-01Volume 810711232561Effects of prophylactic ankle and knee braces on leg stiffness during hoppingHobara HHashizume SKobayashi YHiroaki Hobara, Satoru Hashizume, Yoshiyuki Kobayashi Human Informatics Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan Abstract: During human movement, the leg can be represented as a mechanical spring, with its stiffness potentially contributing to sports performance and injury prevention. Although many individuals perform athletic activities with joint stabilizers, little is known about the effects of prophylactic lower extremity braces on leg stiffness. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of ankle and/or knee braces on leg stiffness measured during one-legged ­hopping at a range of frequencies. Thirteen male participants performed one-legged hopping with their dominant leg at frequencies of 2.2, 2.6, and 3.0 Hz. All participants were randomly tested under the following four brace conditions: 1) no brace (control), 2) prophylactic ankle brace, 3) prophylactic knee brace, and 4) prophylactic ankle and knee braces. Based on a spring–mass model, leg stiffness was calculated using data from an accelerometer. It was found that leg stiffness increased with increasing hopping frequency for each brace condition. However, there were no significant differences in leg stiffness among the four brace conditions at the three hopping frequencies. Since some level of leg stiffness is needed for optimal athletic performance and training, these results suggest that ankle and knee braces do not significantly interfere with dynamic hopping activities. Keywords: spring–mass model, injury prevention, compensatory strategyhttps://www.dovepress.com/effects-of-prophylactic-ankle-and-knee-braces-on-leg-stiffness-during--peer-reviewed-article-OAJSMspring–mass modelinjury preventionbrace |
| spellingShingle | Hobara H Hashizume S Kobayashi Y Effects of prophylactic ankle and knee braces on leg stiffness during hopping Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine spring–mass model injury prevention brace |
| title | Effects of prophylactic ankle and knee braces on leg stiffness during hopping |
| title_full | Effects of prophylactic ankle and knee braces on leg stiffness during hopping |
| title_fullStr | Effects of prophylactic ankle and knee braces on leg stiffness during hopping |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of prophylactic ankle and knee braces on leg stiffness during hopping |
| title_short | Effects of prophylactic ankle and knee braces on leg stiffness during hopping |
| title_sort | effects of prophylactic ankle and knee braces on leg stiffness during hopping |
| topic | spring–mass model injury prevention brace |
| url | https://www.dovepress.com/effects-of-prophylactic-ankle-and-knee-braces-on-leg-stiffness-during--peer-reviewed-article-OAJSM |
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