Year: 2024 | Month: October | Volume: 14 | Issue: 10 | Pages: 413-421
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20241045
A Literature Review on the Impact of Knee Orthoses in Managing Osteoarthritis: Efficacy and Patient Outcomes
Pinki Swami1, Shivangi Mehra2, Sakshi Saharawat2
1Student, BPO, ISIC Institute of rehabilitation sciences, New Delhi, India.
2Assistant professor, MPO, ISIC Institute of rehabilitation sciences, New Delhi, India.
Corresponding Author: Pinki Swami
ABSTRACT
Background: A knee orthosis is a specialized orthotic device which designed to provide support, stability, and protection to the knee joint. It is commonly used to manage pain, improve function, or prevent further injury in conditions such as knee osteoarthritis, ligament injuries, or post-surgery recovery. Knee braces for osteoarthritis (OA) are designed to redistribute pressure from the damaged areas of the knee, improve joint alignment, and offer stability. There are various types of knee braces, including unloader braces, which shift weight away from the affected part of the joint, and supportive braces that offer general stabilization. By reducing pressure on the knee, these braces can help alleviate pain and improve mobility, allowing patients to maintain an active lifestyle.
Objective: The main objective of review is to evaluate and synthesize existing research on the efficacy of knee braces in managing osteoarthritis aiming to assess how knee braces impact pain relief, functional mobility, joint stabilization, and patient outcomes, while also examining the biomechanical mechanisms behind their effectiveness.
Study design: Literature review.
Significance: This literature review aims to identified the effectiveness and efficacy of different knee braces and how knee braces reduce pain, improve mobility, and delay the need for surgery in knee osteoarthritis patients.
Method: A literature review was conducted using Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Cochrane library and reference list from the pool of retrieved articles.
Result: After reading through earlier studies on knee orthoses for patients with osteoarthritis, many studies indicate the immediate pain relief and have a significant positive impact on enhancing balance, strength, walking speed, step length, quality of life, and physical function as well as a reduction in joint pain and stiffness. Additionally, it is found that in patients with osteoarthritis, knee orthoses enhance static balance, stability, knee adduction moment, and bone alignment. However, one study compares the knee orthoses with other orthotic devices such as foot orthoses, and concluded that other orthotic device is more successful than knee braces.
Conclusion: After reading through the 17 articles,16 articles, highlight the positive effects of knee orthoses on pain relief immediately, as well as on improving strength, balance, walking speed, step length, quality of life, and physical function in along with reducing joint pain and stiffness. And the remaining 1 article indicates that, in comparison to knee orthoses, foot orthoses are more beneficial in enhancing knee adduction moment, pain, and function parameters in patients with knee OA. Hence, we can conclude after reviewing the literature that knee orthoses can be effectively used as a physical treatment to enhance balance and physical function among patients with knee OA.
Key words: Knee osteoarthritis, knee orthoses, knee brace, unloads, offloading.