ORIGINAL PAPER
Wearing knee sleeves during back squats does not improve mass lifted or affect knee biomechanics
 
More details
Hide details
1
Old Dominion University, Norfolk, USA
 
2
California State University, Long Beach, USA
 
 
Submission date: 2019-10-04
 
 
Acceptance date: 2020-07-13
 
 
Publication date: 2020-11-15
 
 
Hum Mov. 2021;22(2):32-42
 
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Purpose:
Knee sleeves have become widely popular in the exercise realm, especially for knee support during back squats. Knee sleeves are successful in providing frontal plane knee support during functional tasks, but have not been investigated in back squats. Knee wraps, a somewhat similar elastic material, provide elastic energy that increases weight lifted during back squats. Thus, it is possible the thick neoprene knee sleeves could prove advantageous for back squats. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of knee sleeves on weight lifted, knee biomechanics, and muscle activations during back squats.

Methods:
Fifteen resistance trained men and women performed 1-repetition maximum (1-RM) squats to full depth and 80% 1-RM to full and parallel depths during two separate randomized sessions: with/without knee sleeves. Three-dimensional motion capture, force platforms, and electromyography recorded knee biomechanics and activations of the rectus femoris, vastus medialis, biceps femoris long head, and gluteus maximus during all squats.

Results:
Maximal weight lifted did not improve when using knee sleeves. Frontal plane knee biomechanics did not differ for 1-RM or submaximal squats to either depth between conditions. Knee external rotation moments during descent were larger with sleeves during submaximal squats. Reduced integrated ascent phase gluteus maximus activations occurred during both 1-RM and submaximal squats with knee sleeves.

Conclusions:
The results of this study show that wearing knee sleeves does not provide additive effects to weight lifted and do not appear to alter frontal plane mechanics during weighted back squats.

 
REFERENCES (25)
1.
Escamilla RF. Knee biomechanics of the dynamic squat exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2001;33(1):127–141; doi: 10.1097/00005768-200101000-00020.
 
2.
Escamilla RF, Fleisig GS, Lowry TM, Barrentine SW, Andrews JR. A three-dimensional biomechanical analysis of the squat during varying stance widths. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2001;33(6):984–998; doi: 10.1097/00005768-200106000-00019.
 
3.
Flanagan S, Salem GJ, Wang M-Y, Sanker SE, Greendale GA. Squatting exercises in older adults: kinematic and kinetic comparisons. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2003;35(4):635–643; doi: 10.1249/01.MSS.0000058364.47973.06.
 
4.
Schoenfeld BJ. Squatting kinematics and kinetics and their application to exercise performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2010;24(12):3497–3506; doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181bac2d7.
 
5.
Gomes WA, Brown LE, Soares EG, da Silva JJ, de O Silva FHD, Serpa ÉP, et al. Kinematic and sEMG analysis of the back squat at different intensities with and without knee wraps. J Strength Cond Res. 2015;29(9):2482–2487. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000922.
 
6.
Flanagan SP, Salem GJ. Lower extremity joint kinetic responses to external resistance variations. J Appl Biomech. 2008;24(1):58–68; doi: 10.1123/jab.24.1.58.
 
7.
Fry AC, Smith JC, Schilling BK. Effect of knee position on hip and knee torques during the barbell squat. J Strength Cond Res. 2003;17(4):629–633; doi: 10.1519/1533-4287(2003)017<0629:eokpoh>2.0.co;2.
 
8.
Lorenzetti S, Gülay T, Stoop M, List R, Gerber H, Schellenberg F, et al. Comparison of the angles and corresponding moments in the knee and hip during restricted and unrestricted squats. J Strength Cond Res.2012;26(10):2829–2836; doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e318267918b.
 
9.
Lake JP, Carden PJC, Shorter KA. Wearing knee wraps affects mechanical output and performance characteristics of back squat exercise. J Strength Cond Res. 2012;26(10):2844–2849; doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182429840.
 
10.
Marchetti PH, Pereira Matos VJ, Soares EG, da Silva JJ, Serpa ÉP, Corrêa DA, et al. Can the technique of knee wrap placement affect the maximal isometric force during back squat exercise? Int J Sports Sci. 2015;5(1):16–18; doi: 10.5923/j.sports.20150501.03.
 
11.
Totten L. Knee wraps. Strength Cond J. 1990;12(5):36–39.
 
12.
Harman E, Frykman P. Bridging the gap – research: the effects of knee wraps on weightlifting performance and injury. Strength Cond J. 1990;12(5):30–35.
 
13.
Bryk FF, de Jesus JF, Fukuda TY, Moreira EG, Marcondes FB, dos Santos MG. Immediate effect of the elastic knee sleeve use on individuals with osteoarthritis. Rev Bras Reumatol. 2011;51(5):440–446; doi: 10.1590/S0482-50042011000500004.
 
14.
Mazzuca SA, Page MC, Meldrum RD, Brandt KD, Petty-Saphon S. Pilot study of the effects of a heat-retaining knee sleeve on joint pain, stiffness, and function in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2004;51(5):716–721; doi: 10.1002/art.20683.
 
15.
Schween R, Gehrig D, Gollhofer A. Immediate effects of an elastic knee sleeve on frontal plane gait biomechanics in knee osteoarthritis. PLoS One. 2015;10(1):e0115782; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115782.
 
16.
Van Tiggelen D, Coorevits P, Witvrouw E. The use of a neoprene knee sleeve to compensate the deficit in knee joint position sense caused by muscle fatigue. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2008;18(1):62–66; doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2007.00649.x.
 
17.
Csapo R, Hosp S, Folie R, Eberle R, Hasler M, Nachbauer W. Elastic knee sleeves limit anterior tibial translation in healthy females. J Sports Sci Med. 2016;15(1):206–207.
 
18.
Sinclair J, Mann J, Weston G, Poulsen N, Edmundson CJ, Bentley I, et al. Acute effects of knee wraps/ sleeve on kinetics, kinematics and muscle forces during the barbell back squat. Sport Sci Health. 2020;16:227–237; doi: 10.1007/s11332-019-00595-5.
 
19.
Caterisano A, Moss RF, Pellinger TK, Woodruff K, Lewis VC, Booth W, et al. The effect of back squat depth on the EMG activity of 4 superficial hip and thigh muscles. J Strength Cond Res. 2002;16(3):428–432; doi: 10.1519/1533-4287(2002)016<0428:TEOBSD>2.0.CO;2.
 
20.
Contreras B, Vigotsky AD, Schoenfeld BJ, Beardsley C, Cronin J. A comparison of gluteus maximus, biceps femoris, and vastus lateralis electromyography amplitude in the parallel, full, and front squat variations in resistance-trained females. J Appl Biomech. 2016;32(1):16–22; doi: 10.1123/jab.2015-0113.
 
21.
Bennett HJ, Fleenor K, Weinhandl JT. A normative database of hip and knee joint biomechanics during dynamic tasks using anatomical regression prediction methods. J Biomech. 2018;81:122–131; doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2018.10.003.
 
22.
Haff GG, Triplett NT. Essentials of strength training and conditioning, 3rd ed. Champaign: Human Kinetics; 2016.
 
23.
Davis RB, Õunpuu S, Tyburski D, Gage JR. A gait analysis data collection and reduction technique. Hum Mov Sci. 1991;10(5):575–587; doi: 10.1016/0167-9457(91)90046-Z.
 
24.
De Luca CJ, Gilmore LD, Kuznetsov M, Roy SH. Filtering the surface EMG signal: movement artifact and baseline noise contamination. J Biomech. 2010;43(8):1573–1579; doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2010.01.027.
 
25.
Wretenberg P, Feng Y, Arborelius UP. High- and low-bar squatting techniques during weight-training. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1996;28(2):218–224; doi: 10.1097/00005768-199602000-00010.
 
ISSN:1899-1955
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top