Does preventive bracing help young athletes avoid ACL injury, and should bracing be utilized after surgery?
The effectiveness of bracing healthy knees to prevent ligament injuries, and its usefulness following ACL reconstruction, have been the subject of many orthopedic studies. However, the results do not provide a clear consensus to support or discourage preventive or post-surgical functional knee bracing in young athletes. Though the literature remains controversial, orthopedic physicians most often prescribe functional knee bracing in the event of partial ACL ruptures or ACL-deficient knees in young athletes who have deferred or delayed reconstruction. Bracing is typically used in these instances in conjunction with patient education, activity modification, and an exercise program aimed at restoring function, motion, strength, and balance. With regard to pediatric and adolescent athletes who have undergone ACL reconstruction, the decision to brace or not brace is generally made by a physician on an individual basis, accounting for factors ranging from the structural integrity of the reco
