JOINT LOADING WITH VALGUS BRACING IN PATIENTS WITH VARUS GONARTHROSIS

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a brace designed to unload varus degenerative knees actually alters medial compartment lo ads by decreasing the adduction moment. Eleven patients who had arthro sis confined to the medial compartment were fitted with a valgus brace and tested before and after brace wear with pain and function scoring instruments and by automated gait analysis, The biomechanical data fr om these patients were compared with those from 11 healthy control sub jects, Scores from an analog pain scale decreased 48% with brace wear, and function with activities of daily living increased 79%. Mean addu ction moment without the brace measured 4.0 +/- 0.8% body weight times height versus 3.6 +/- 0.8% body weight times height when wearing the brace (10% decrease), The mean adduction moment for control subjects w as 3.5 +/- 0.6% body weight times height. Thus, the mean adduction mom ent decreased from approximately one standard deviation from the norma l mean to a value that is similar to the control value, Nine of 11 pat ients had a decrease in the adduction moment with the brace, five of 1 1 patients had a reduction higher than 10%, and decreases in this mome nt were as high as 32%. This study shows that pain, function, and biom echanical knee loading can be altered by a brace designed to unload th e medial compartment of the knee.