Wearing an ankle brace may not increase injury risk to the knee, studys suggests

"Ankle braces are common in the sport community and there has been concern that stabilizing the ankle joint might alter biomechanics further up the kinetic chain," said Dr. Aerni. "Our research showed that knee biomechanics known to be risk factors for ACL injury did not appear to be negatively impacted by wearing a lace-up ankle brace."

The joints in the lower body -- hip, knee and ankle work together as a kinetic chain, which means each joint influences the movement of the other joints as a collective group. If there is a restriction in the hip or ankle that may put the knee joint at a compromised position and increase the risk for injury.

The conference featured lectures and research addressing the most challenging topics in sports medicine today including prevention of sudden death, cardiovascular issues in athletes, concussion, biologic therapies, and other controversies facing the field of sports medicine.

More than 1,200 sports medicine physicians from across the United States and 12 countries around the world attended the meeting.

Dr. Aerni is a primary care sports medicine fellow at the University of Connecticut. She completed her family medicine residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, St. Margaret in Pittsburgh, PA and attended medical school at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.