OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that a custom-fit valgus knee brace and custom-made lateral wedge foot orthotic will have greatest effects on decreasing the external knee adduction moment during gait when used concurrently. DESIGN Proof-of-concept, single test session, crossover trial. SETTING Biomechanics laboratory within a tertiary care center. PARTICIPANTS Patients (n=16) with varus ...

BACKGROUND A small knee flexion angle in landing tasks was identified as a possible risk factor for noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injuries that are common in sports. HYPOTHESIS A specially designed knee brace with a constraint to knee extension would significantly increase the knee flexion angle at the landing of athletic tasks preceded with horizontal movement components, such as sto...

Marcus Brown Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada Background Bracing is a treatment option for medial knee osteoarthritis [1] that unloads the medial knee through the application of an external moment (brace moment) [2]. In theory, the brace moment is designed to reduce the total external adduction moment, as disease severity and external addu...

Objectives: We evaluated whether a valgus knee brace and an insole with subtalar strapping could reduce pain and improve functional scores over 12 months in patients with medial knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: OA was confirmed by radiography in all patients, who were divided into three groups: exercise (n = 44), insole (n = 55), and brace (n = 19). Clinical knee functions and gait analyses w...

Knee injury is one of the major problems in sports medicine, and the use of prophylactic knee braces is an attempt to reduce the occurrence and/or severity of injuries to the knee joint ligament(s) without inhibiting knee mobility. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of one recently designed prophylactic knee brace and two neoprene knee sleeves upon performance of healthy ath...

Background & Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine the immediate effect of patella support brace on co-contraction and electromyographic activity of selected lower limb muscles in females with patellofemoral pain syndrome during stance phase of gait. Methods: EMG activity of vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, rectus femoris, gastrocnemius, biceps femoris, semitendinosus, gluteus medi...

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the differences in joint moment and power patterns during walking with and without a functional knee brace and when the brace was deliberately misaligned with the knee axis of rotation. Five participants were asked to walk over a force platform with and without the brace as well as during a condition where the axis of rotation of the brace had ...

Objective To provide the off -loading knee brace was designed relief for the pain associated with osteoarthritis by reduce loads on the degenerative compartment of the knee. Th is study examined the eff ects of the off -loading knee brace on activation of femoral muscles during squatting, slow and fast walking exercise in healthy young individuals. Method Ten healthy male subjects without a his...