Article

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
calculated the valgus moment generated by the brace by using a novel system that
measured the actual deformation of the brace during stance phase and determined
the reaction force created by the brace on the leg. The mean maximum value of the
orthotic valgus moment was 0.053 Nm/kg, which represents approximately 10% of the
external genu varus moment without the brace. This finding may explain the pain
relief reported by patients using such braces in clinical studies. Use of the
tested brace also decreased the magnitude of gait asymmetry between the braced
and contralateral legs during walking (horizontal ground reaction force, external
knee flexion moment), presumably because the subjects' need to walk abnormally to
shield the knee from pain was reduced.

Langue : ANGLAIS