Effect of equipping an unloader knee orthosis with vibrators on pain, function, stiffness, and knee adduction moment in people with knee osteoarthritis: A pilot randomized trial.

BACKGROUND

Wearing unloader knee orthoses for the long term may have a side effect on knee adduction moment (KAM).

RESEARCH QUESTION: This study sought to determine whether equipping an unloader knee orthosis with vibrators improves its effectiveness in pain, stiffness, function, and reducing the KAM.

METHODS

The authors performed a clinical evaluation with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) questionnaire and instrumented gait analyses on 14 participants with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis in two testing sessions: before wearing the orthosis and after 6 weeks of use.

RESULTS AND SIGNIFICANCE: Wearing both orthoses for 6 weeks significantly improved (p < 0.05) pain, stiffness, and function compared to the baseline assessment. There was a significantly greater reduction in the first peak KAM (p = 0.016) and KAM impulse (p = 0.008) in the vibratory unloader knee orthosis than in the conventional knee orthosis in the second session. Equipping the unloader knee orthosis with vibrators can improve its effectiveness in reducing the KAM and can prevent the side effects of its use. Furthermore, equipping the unloader knee orthosis with the vibrators did not interfere with its effectiveness on pain, stiffness, and function.