Knee braces: worth wearing to help prevent injuries?

[MassPats38]

With Gronkowski's injury yesterday, I was reminded of a story a few years ago in which a knee injury to Mankins was likely minimized by a policy that all offensive linemen wear knee braces.

I don't get the sense that the policy applies to all, but given the likely effect of the contact rules and increased leg contact, wouldn't such a policy make sense?

And this isn't to say any injury Gronk incurred would have been avoided by a brace (I doubt braces were designed to weather high energy hits like the one yesterday, but it may reduce the full force on the knee).

 

[chasa]

those braces make it incredibly difficult to cut when running, however the patriots should look into lining all of their uniforms with DL3

 

[Gumby]

Even better, think air-bags.

Just imagine as the helmet comes in on the knee of your favorite player his knee air-bag deploys and blows the defender back off him.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Even better, think air-bags.

Just imagine as the helmet comes in on the knee of your favorite player his knee air-bag deploys and blows the defender back off him.

How's about having a few grams of plastic explosive in the brace so if a Receiver gets hit on the knee a small device explodes outwards and decapitates the tackler? This would definitely give a whole new meaning to the phrase "blow out a knee," while also appealing to video game lovers by building an innovative bridge between the worlds of fantasy and reality!





[Unfortunately, over the years I've discovered that there are many out here who are devoid of either a sense of humor (albeit a sick sense of humor) or sarcasm. So, for the record, that's a joke.]

 

[IllegalContact]

I don't think there is a knee brace out there that will protect against that kind of contact.

I have an idea.....how about not setting up important players on suicide missions? when you have safeties setting up 25 yards deep, this end result becomes a very real possibility.

 

[yukon cornelius]

I don't think there is a knee brace out there that will protect against that kind of contact.

I have an idea.....how about not setting up important players on suicide missions? when you have safeties setting up 25 yards deep, this end result becomes a very real possibility.

I also believe the ball was supposed to be over gronk's other shoulder

braces help O-lineman on the roll overs and incidental collisions


on a hit like Gronks, a knee brace may have made it worse......there would have been no give, his knee may have just blown up on a hit like that



knee braces can help.....but they can also compound injuries on violent hits like that

 

[Galeb]

If enough money was spent, braces that prevent the vast majority of injuries while barely hampering motion could be developed. The pads would have to be customized to each athlete and would probably significantly change the sillouette. They would be hard to put on and take off and would probably be a lot of work to maintain and tune. It would also be very expensive, which is why the NFL won't do it. Injured athletes really don't cost the NFL any money. They could care less about the quality of the product as long as people are watching, filling the stands and buying memorabilia.

 

[olschool]

I don't think there is a knee brace out there that will protect against that kind of contact.

I have an idea.....how about not setting up important players on suicide missions? when you have safeties setting up 25 yards deep, this end result becomes a very real possibility.

Why should a pass play be a suicide mission ? The only thing that will end these crippling injuries is to stop defenders from launching like a cruise missile into the ball carrier.

If the NFL outlaws a defensive player leaving his feet to make a stop, and actually having to close on and wrap up the ball carrier, these kinds of things would be pretty rare.

Of course that would mean training players from a young age to change the way they play, and would also piss off the kind of fans that just love to see Nascar collisions.

 

[IllegalContact]

Why should a pass play be a suicide mission ? The only thing that will end these crippling injuries is to stop defenders from launching like a cruise missile into the ball carrier.

If the NFL outlaws a defensive player leaving his feet to make a stop, and actually having to close on and wrap up the ball carrier, these kinds of things would be pretty rare.

Of course that would mean training players from a young age to change the way they play, and would also piss off the kind of fans that just love to see Nascar collisions.

you have a safety 25 yards down the field when the ball is snapped.......you send gronk on a route to the left, but it was clear he was looking for the ball towards the middle, turning to the right. given these conditions, I'm not sure how anyone expects things to turn out well......Ward did his job......what else was he going to do? what would any 210 lb guy do in that instance, try to wrap up a 270lb guy with a text book tackle, likely crushing your sternumin the process? nope....most would do exactly what ward did

watch the replay.......ward never leaves his feet

the only thing you can really say about the curcumstances is that the whole thing was extremely unfortunate.

 

[chasa]

you have a safety 25 yards down the field when the ball is snapped.......you send gronk on a route to the left, but it was clear he was looking for the ball towards the middle, turning to the right. given these conditions, I'm not sure how anyone expects things to turn out well......Ward did his job......what else was he going to do? what would any 210 lb guy do in that instance, try to wrap up a 270lb guy with a text book tackle, likely crushing your sternumin the process? nope....most would do exactly what ward did

the only thing you can really say about the curcumstances is that the whole thing was extremely unfortunate.

they should just get rid of the players and have each teams QB play a madden version of the game.

 

[Ian]

Actually I thought about that last night after Brady took a shot either last year or the year before that bent the brace (which likely saved his season), and he talked about the fact he always wears it ever since his own injury. It's too bad no one has invented one that works well for receivers, tight ends, running backs, etc. They'd make millions and would certainly help prevent some of these injuries.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Actually I thought about that last night after Brady took a shot either last year or the year before that bent the brace (which likely saved his season), and he talked about the fact he always wears it ever since his own injury. It's too bad no one has invented one that works well for receivers, tight ends, running backs, etc. They'd make millions and would certainly help prevent some of these injuries.

Seriously - if it can be done, there's money in it. Pretty much every skill position player who's ever had a knee injury would likely sign up to wear it. In fact, I bet a bunch of coaches would require it. You look at the kind of money that James Harrison spends on maintaining his body, and it's clear that some of these guys really get it. They understand that their body is what's making them millions of dollars a year, so large investments in it are entirely justified. More often than not, a major knee injury like this leads to the player leaving a lot of money on the table down the line.

 

[primetime]

Nothing was going to prevent yesterday's injury. Gronk is a big guy who runs tall and hitting him low is the only way to take him out. This sort of injury has been in the offing for awhile for him, and I suspect that based on the way he plays he will never finish a season. These injuries occur and are not really preventable.

I don't really have an issue with that, though -- physical (unlike mental) injuries are known maladies that everyone signs up for when playing a tackle game, and they're unlikely to impact quality and length of life down the line.

 

[FirstAndGoal]

Many colleges require their linemen to wear them.

 

[olschool]

you have a safety 25 yards down the field when the ball is snapped.......you send gronk on a route to the left, but it was clear he was looking for the ball towards the middle, turning to the right. given these conditions, I'm not sure how anyone expects things to turn out well......Ward did his job......what else was he going to do? what would any 210 lb guy do in that instance, try to wrap up a 270lb guy with a text book tackle, likely crushing your sternumin the process? nope....most would do exactly what ward did

watch the replay.......ward never leaves his feet

the only thing you can really say about the curcumstances is that the whole thing was extremely unfortunate.

I just watched the replay six times. Ward was parallel to the ground with his feet in the air when he hit Gronk shoulder first in the knee. I agree that he's too small to tackle a huge guy like that, but that doesn't change the result of the season ending injury to Gronk.

Eventually teams will end up with 250 pound defensive backs to stop 250 pound receivers. Just like the linemen, who are all huge these days, the rest of the players will have to grow accordingly.

We're going to be seeing players like Gronk being switched to defense in high school in response to all the 6'5" receivers that are out there.

Either that or change the way the game is played. At some point the owners will get tired of paying millions to players on injured reserve.

 

[IllegalContact]

I just watched the replay six times. Ward was parallel to the ground with his feet in the air when he hit Gronk shoulder first in the knee. I agree that he's too small to tackle a huge guy like that, but that doesn't change the result of the season ending injury to Gronk.

Eventually teams will end up with 250 pound defensive backs to stop 250 pound receivers. Just like the linemen, who are all huge these days, the rest of the players will have to grow accordingly.

We're going to be seeing players like Gronk being switched to defense in high school in response to all the 6'5" receivers that are out there.

Either that or change the way the game is played. At some point the owners will get tired of paying millions to players on injured reserve.

you are incorrect.....Ward has a foot on the ground when contact is made.....there was no launching.....not sure what you were watching....like I said, the hit was very unfortunate, but it was clean....here, you can watch it as many times as you like

 

[IllegalContact]

Many colleges require their linemen to wear them.

running pass routes, you'd never make a decent cut wearing the OL brace......still, that brace would not stand a chance with that kind of collision

this year has been brutal for injuries....next man up and hope for the best.

if they can get all their WR's healthy, they can do alot of damage with scheme.

be prepared to see some new stuff.......I'm actually hoping for a football equivalent to the Hank Geathers/Bo Kimble days of Loyola-Marymount....let's see if the offense can get 100 plays in a game

 

[primetime]

There's nothing that can prevent that sort of injury. Ward's hit was completely clean, and textbook. Go low to take down a much bigger man. Gronkowski tends to run a little high, so this was probably inevitable. Human knees are incredibly fragile, and aren't made to withstand impact from another human being wearing rock-hard headgear. Tackle football is bloodsport.

It's one thing to lament head injuries and the brain damage they can cause (especially when the full extent and risk of this is unknown to both the public and the players), it's another to expect rule changes to try to mitigate the fact that human knees (and other joints) are really quite vulnerable to impact, cutting awkwardly, landing funny, and a million other things.

 

[IllegalContact]

the manner in which gronk plays is conducive to injury.....but I think we've touched on that over the years.

that route really needs him turning to the outside

 

[Boogs]

Actually I thought about that last night after Brady took a shot either last year or the year before that bent the brace (which likely saved his season), and he talked about the fact he always wears it ever since his own injury. It's too bad no one has invented one that works well for receivers, tight ends, running backs, etc. They'd make millions and would certainly help prevent some of these injuries.

TE's, RB's and receivers rely so much on the ability to move. For them, the guy that moves the best usually wins. Making the cut to get open, going up to catch a ball, spin moves, jukes etc... Putting any brace on hinders all that. The more stability you get, generally the less mobility, less quickness and less agility you get. I can tell you already know that. But I doubt it could be done unless you're doing some type of ironman exoskeleton suit that would be illegal for sport.