Comparison of Osteoarthritic Knee Patients Analyzed In Vivo with Multiple Knee Braces during Step Up and Step Down Activities

+Kuhn, M J; Mahfouz, M R; Anderle, M R; Komistek, R D; Dennis, D A; Nachtrab, D +University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA, Colorado Joint Replacement, Denver, CO, USA [email protected] INTRODUCTION: Many nonoperative techniques exist to alleviate pain in unicompartmental osteoarthritic knees including physical therapy, heel wedges and off-loading knee braces [1]. Arthritic knee braces are particularly effective since they can be used on a regular basis at home, work, etc. Previous knee brace studies focused on their ability to stabilize anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) deficient knees. A robust method for measuring brace effectiveness is the use of fluoroscopy techniques to analyze the in vivo 3-D conditions of the femur and tibia. This work extends fluoroscopic analysis of arthritic knee braces beyond normal walking [2] and examines the stance phase of gait as patients perform normal step up and step down activities. The objective of this study is to perform a 3-D, in vivo, weight bearing analysis of the effectiveness of multiple arthritic knee braces in alleviating unicompartmental osteoarthritis of the medial condyle during the everyday activity of walking up and down stairs.