Brace effects on the unstable knee in 21 cases: A roentgen stereophotogrammetric comparison of three designs

Abstract

Three designs of knee braces were investigated in 21 knees with arthroscopically verified old tears of the anterior cruciate ligament. Anterior-posterior and rotatory instability with and without anterior traction were recorded with roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis. Two of the designs examined reduced the anterior-posterior instability (ECKO, modified Lenox Hill), but not to normal levels. At 20° of flexion, none of the braces decreased the internal rotatory instability, whereas one type (modified Lenox Hill) reduced the external rotatory instability.