Knee Braces
Report #6392 12/17/94
Joe Namath was one of the toughest athletes ever. He had such severe pain in his knees from injuries that he had to have his knees packed in ice before and after every game, wore knee braces, played hurt and then had both knees replaced at age 44.
Doctors have argued for many years about whether knee braces help to protect the knees of football players who have had previous knee damage. The data show that they do not. The ends of bones where they come together to form a joint are so soft that they have to be covered with cartilage to prevent damage. Cartilage is much tougher and resistant to injury than bones, but it still can be broken. When you break cartilage in your knee, it can never heal, and will always be followed by further damage when you run and jump. The cartilage of your upper leg fits into groves and prominence of the cartilage of the lower leg/ just like gears fit in your car. When you damage part of the cartilage in your knee, the joint loses stability and the cartilage breaks with increased motion. Therefore, anyone who has damaged the cartilage in his knee should not run or jump, let alone play football and risk being hit on the knee and knocking off more cartilage.
Many athletes elect to play in spite of their increased risk for further knee damage. They can use knee braces if they want, but the scientific literature clearly shows that knee braces do not prevent further damage.
Knee injury rehabilitation
Damaged knee cartilage
Arthroscopic knee surgery
Knee replacement
By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News
RJ Deppen, MJ Landfried. Efficacy of Prophylactic Knee Bracing in High School Football Players. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy 20: 5:NOV 1994:243-246