THE EFFECT OF LONG-TERM USE OF BRACES ON ELECTRICAL MUSCLE ACTIVITY IN PEOPLE WITH GENU VARUS WHILE RUNNING: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Genu varus is one of the most common lower limb complications that affect a
person's performance during daily activities and sports. The aim of this study was to investigate the
effect of using knee braces on the frequency content of lower limb muscles in people with genu varus
while running.
Materials & Methods: The present study was quasi-experimental. 30 male students with genu varus
(20-30 years) were randomly divided into control and intervention groups. Knee brace was used for 8
weeks in the experimental group. The subjects used a knee brace in most of their daily activities.
Electrical activity of selected muscles was recorded by electromyography system. For statistical
analysis, repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used at a significance level of 0.05.
Results: The results of the present study showed that the electrical activity of the biceps muscle showed
a significant decrease during stance phase by -67.63% at post-test compared to the pre-test (p = 0.026).
Also, the electrical activity of the biceps muscle during stance at the post-test compared to the pre-test
showed a significant decrease by 21.09% (p = 0.036). The electrical activity of other muscles in the
intervention group did not show any significant difference during the post-test compared to the pre-test
(p <0.05).
Conclusion: Due to the decrease in the frequency of medial gastrocnemius and biceps femoris muscles,
it can be stated that long-term use of the brace can improve running mechanics.