Effect of an ankle-foot orthosis on knee joint mechanics: a novel conservative treatment for knee osteoarthritis.

Background: Several conservative treatments for medial knee osteoarthritis such as knee orthosis and laterally wedged insoles have been shown to reduce the load in the medial knee compartment. However, those treatments also present limitations such as patient compliance and inconsistent results regarding the treatment success.

Objective: To analyze the effect of an ankle-foot orthosis on the knee adduction moment and knee joint alignment in the frontal plane in subjects with knee varus alignment.

Influence of a valgus knee brace on muscle activation and co-contraction in patients with medial knee osteoarthritis.

The purpose of this study was to analyse the effect of a valgus knee orthosis designed for patients with knee osteoarthritis on the electromyographic activity (EMG) of seven muscles of the lower limb during gait. Twelve patients with medial knee osteoarthritis walked on a treadmill in three different conditions: without orthosis, with a knee orthosis in 4° valgus adjustment and with an orthosis in a neutral flexible adjustment. Root-mean-square (RMS) was analysed in each condition during a 150 ms pre-activation phase and during the stance phase of gait, which was divided in four sub-phases.

Kinetic and kinematic changes with the use of valgus knee brace and lateral wedge insoles in patients with medial knee osteoarthritis.

The effect of a valgus knee brace and a lateral wedged insole on knee and ankle kinematics and kinetics was evaluated in ten patients with medial knee osteoarthritis (OA). The knee orthosis was tested in two valgus adjustments (4° and 8°), and the laterally wedged insole was fabricated with an inclination of 4°. A motion capture system and force platforms were used for data collection and joint moments were calculated using inverse dynamics.

Short-term effects of a dedicated knee orthosis on knee adduction moment, pain, and function in patients with osteoarthritis.

Objective: To analyze knee joint loading, subjective pain relief, and improvements in function in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) with the use of 2 orthosis adjustments.

Design: Patients were tested under 3 different conditions (without orthosis, orthosis at 4° valgus, and a neutral very flexible adjustment) in a crossover trial.

Setting: University gait analysis laboratory with 3-dimensional motion analysis and force platforms.

The effect of valgus bracing on the knee adduction moment during gait and running in male subjects with varus alignment.

Background: Increased mechanical load is one risk factor for osteoarthritis. One possible treatment for this disorder is the use of knee braces in order to redistribute joint loading, which may inhibit the progression of the disease. The hypothesis was: knee adduction moment can be reduced with the use of a dedicated knee orthosis, which applies an abduction moment at the knee.