Question Number: 23789

Law 4 - Players Equipment 8/17/2010

RE: Varsity high school team High School

Craig of Kittery , Maine US asks...

My son wears non metal knee braces to support weaker exterior muscles. We need a doctors note so he can wear them in games. What do I ask the doctor to write? Thank you!

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

NFHS rules no longer require that a medical release for a player to use a knee brace (and I understand that Maine high school soccer follows NFHS rules in this regard). But, whenever a medical release is required, it usually is in the form of a letter on a physician's letterhead that X is cleared to play soccer while using the particular brace.

NFHS rules also provide that if the manufacturer of the brace requires a cover, a cover must be worn.

Even with a medical release, however, the individual referee must decide whether the knee brace is safe (to the wearer or to the other players). Many referees believe that a hard plastic surface on the brace makes it dangerous to others during slide tackles.

Thus, if your son's brace has hard plastic components and the manufacturer sells an optional cover (usually made of neoprene), buying that cover and having it available at the match will usually avoid all issues with the concerns about safety.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Craig
There could be two possible purposes here. One is whether the player is deemed fit enough to play and the other is whether the knee brace is of danger or not to other players. Doctors I believe have no interest in the latter.
All referees will determine the safety of a brace and decide accordingly whether to allow the brace to be worn. In general non metal braces rarely cause any problem from a safety perspective .