The biomechanical effectiveness of a valgus-inducing knee brace was investigated for 16 patients with knee osteoarthritis (mean +/- standard deviation age 56 +/- 10 yr, height 172 +/- 9 cm, mass 83 +/- 7 kg, body mass index 27.6 +/- 4.5 kg/m(2)). At the time of investigation, all subjects had been wearing the brace for at least 4 weeks. In addition to conducting standard gait analysis, we calcu...

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...

Background: It has been proposed that in-brace correction is the best guideline for prediction of the results of brace treatment for patients with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS). However, bracing may be a stressful experience for patients and bracing non-compliance could be psychologically related. The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation between brace compliance, in-brace...

BACKGROUND It has been proposed that in-brace correction is the best guideline for prediction of the results of brace treatment for patients with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS). However, bracing may be a stressful experience for patients and bracing non-compliance could be psychologically related. The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation between brace compliance, in-brace ...

BACKGROUND Clinical evidence regarding the ability of braces to decrease the risk of curve progression to surgical threshold in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) continues to strengthen. Unfortunately, there is still a great deal of uncertainty regarding the impact of brace wear on psychosocial well-being or the impact of psychological well-being on brace wear adherence. The p...

The goal of this study was to determine the primary correction of the Cobb angles of idiopathic scoliosis subjects wearing the Rigo System Cheneau (RSC) brace. The RSC brace is a scoliosis brace that incorporates expansion and pressure areas to treat all aspects of the 3-dimensional scoliotic deformity not only in the frontal plane but also in the sagittal and transverse planes. After years of ...

BACKGROUND A successful outcome for the treatment of idiopathic clubfoot is believed to require adequate adherence to brace use. Previous studies have relied on parental reporting of brace application. We used temperature sensors to determine the adherence to the bracing protocol, the accuracy of parent-reported use, and differences in adherence between patients who experienced relapse of defor...

BACKGROUND Exercises are frequently performed in order to improve the efficacy of bracing and avoid its collateral effects. Very frequently there is a loss of correction during brace weaning in AIS treatment. AIM To verify the efficacy of exercises in reducing correction loss during brace weaning. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective controlled study. POPULATION Sixty-eight consecutive patients (ei...

OBJECTIVES Isolated distal fibular ankle fractures in children are very common and at very low risk for future complications. Nevertheless, standard therapy for these fractures still consists of casting, a practice that carries risks, inconveniences, and use of subspecialty health care resources. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to determine whether children who have these low-ri...