Evaluation of a New Patellar Tendon Bearing Brace With Offloading Monitoring and Adjustability: A Pilot Study.

Background And Aims: The patellar tendon-bearing (PTB) brace is a crucial device designed to lessen axial forces on the tibia. The newly designed PTB brace allows clinicians to measure offloading amount in the realtime. This study aimed to explore the relationship between a rise in displacement between the foot plate and calf shells of this new PTB brace and changes in the amount of offloading on the tibia.

Methods: This pilot study used a sample of five individuals with midshaft tibia fractures to investigate the effectiveness of the PTB brace under different conditions. The PTB brace was tested in six different conditions, with the displacement between the foot plate and calf shells varying in increments of 0.5 cm, from 1 cm to 3.5 cm.

Results: The new PTB brace provided varying levels of offloading, ranging from 22% to 38%. As the vertical distance between the calf shells and foot plate increased, the offloading levels also increased significantly. The study observed significant differences in weight reduction ( = 0.02) and offloading percentages ( = 0.048) when comparing 1 cm and 1.5 cm displacement.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that maintaining a distance of 1.5 cm or more between the calf shells and foot plate is effective in reducing weight and offloading on the tibia. These results have important implications for clinicians using PTB braces to treat tibia fractures, highlighting the importance of adjusting the displacement of the PTB brace to optimize patient outcomes.