Purpose: Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear is a common injury among wrestlers. One of its treatments is reconstructive surgery with Hamstring Tendon (HST) autograft. This research aimed to examine the effect of neoprene knee brace on the knee kinetics variables of elite wrestlers after ligament reconstructive surgery with hamstring autograft.
Methods: The present research method is quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest design and a control group. A total of 10 elite wrestlers with average (SD) age of 26.1(2.37) years, average (SD) weight of 78.25(11.32) kg and average (SD) height of 174(3.6) cm all of whom underwent ACL reconstructive surgery with hamstring autograft 6 to 18 months prior to the present research were selected through convenience sampling method. In this research, the selected kinetic variables (ratio of the knee flexor muscles torque to the knee extensor muscles, the average peak torque, maximum power and total work of knee extensor and flexor muscles) were measured by isokinetic dynamometer Gymnex model ISO-1 at 120 degrees per second in two modes of with and without neoprene knee brace with open patella and two adjustable straps. To examine the research hypotheses, the statistical dependent t test at the significant level of 0.05 was used. All statistical analyses were done by SPSS 16.
Results: The findings of statistical tests demonstrated that using neoprene knee brace results in significant changes in the average peak torque, maximum power and total work of the knee flexor muscles and also the ratio of the knee flexor muscles torque to the extensor muscles (P<0.05). Nevertheless using neoprene knee brace did not create significant changes in the kinetic variables of knee extensor muscles (P≥0.05).
Conclusion: Based on the results, using neoprene knee brace could improve kinetic variables, especially knee flexor muscles in elite wrestlers after ligament reconstructive surgery. Therefore, these wrestlers after ACL reconstructive surgery through HST method and performing rehabilitation program can benefit from neoprene knee brace for improving kinetic variables of knee flexor muscles and reducing the likelihood of ligament re-injury during athletic activities.