Quantitative Electromyography Analysis of Disc Unloader Brace

Long-term results of an unloader brace in patients with unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis.

Previously, we reported a prospective study of 30 patients with unicompartmental osteoarthritis of the knee treated nonoperatively with an unloader brace and average follow-up of 2.7 years. Although the initial study suggested short-term benefit according to pain and function measures, the objective of the current study was to evaluate these same patients via telephone questionnaire to determin...

Clinical Quantitative Electromyography

Does an unloader brace reduce knee loading in normally aligned knees?

BACKGROUND Unloading knee braces often are used after tibiofemoral articular cartilage repair. However, the experimental basis for their use in patients with normal tibiofemoral alignment such as those undergoing cartilage repair is lacking. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of varus and valgus adjustments to one commercially available unloader knee br...

Quantitative Analysis of Optic Disc Color

PURPOSE To evaluate the reproducibility of ImageJ software in analyzing the color of the optic disc. METHODS One hundred twelve normal participants (56 males and 56 females) were enrolled in this study. The image of the optic disc was taken using Kowa digital disc photo-graphy, and the gray scales of the nasal rim (NR), brightest cupping center (BCC) and largest inferior retinal vein (IRV) we...

Knee Unloader Brace Effectiveness Using a Detailed Musculoskeltal Model: a Pilot Study

This study presents a pilot investigation into the effectiveness of unloader knee braces for osteoarthritis subjects. The unloading effect of the brace was modeled by applying a knee abduction moment as a function of the brace deflection angle, eliminating the need for load sensors on the knee brace. The use of a detailed musculoskeletal model provided the means to evaluate the relative importa...