Research Summary
OARSI guidelines for the non-surgical management of knee osteoarthritis
McAlindon, T.E., Bannuru, R.R., Sullivan, M.C., Arden, N.K., Berenbaum, F., Bierma-Zeinstra, S.M., Hawker, G.A., Henrotin, Y., Hunter, D.J., Kawaguchi, H., Kwoh, K., Lohmander, S., Rannou, F., Roos, E.M., Underwood, M. (2014). Osteo. Cart. 22(3): 363-88. doi: 10.1016/j.joca.2014.01.003.
Key Findings
The Osteoarthritis Guidelines Development Group, a group of thirteen medical experts and one patient representative, developed expert consensus guidelines for the non-surgical management of knee osteoarthritis (OA) based on their evaluations of quality-controlled evidence for 29 treatment modalities. Treatment recommendations were categorized as Appropriate, Uncertain, or Not Appropriate, and given scores to represent risk and benefit. In an effort to accommodate a range of health profiles among patients, treatments were either recognized as a Core Treatment viable for all comorbidities or assigned to one of four sub-phenotypes.
Treatments for knee OA that were recognized as Appropriate included biomechanical interventions, intra-articular corticosteroids, exercise, self-management and education, strength training, and weight management.
Relevance to Spring Loaded Bracing
Unlike many OA knee braces, a Spring Loaded knee brace is a tri-compartment offloader with a powerful knee extension assist and is supported by research efforts that are still ongoing. Due to its capacity to offload the entire knee, Spribng Loaded braces can provide substantial knee pain relief to patients with multicompartmental or patellofemoral OA 1– Budarick, A.R. et al. (2020). J. Biomech. Eng. 142(1)
– Bishop, E.L. et al. (2020) Osteo. Cart. Under Peer Review. 28: S243-S244 and increased physical activity 2– Budarick, A.R. et al. (2020) J. Prosthet. Orthot. Under Peer Review..
Additionally, Spring Loaded braces can support users in implementing the recommended first line treatments of exercise and weight management. Due to its demonstrated ability to reduce pain, improve function, and increase physical activity levels 3– Budarick, A.R. et al. (2020) J. Prosthet. Orthot. Under Peer Review., a Spring Loaded brace can help patients lead more active lifestyles.
Spring Loaded bracing has also been shown to reduce joint loads by an amount equivalent to 45 lb of weight loss 4– Budarick, A.R. et al. (2020). J. Biomech. Eng. 142(1), which is a clinically meaningful amount of weight loss 5– Messier, S.P. et al. (2018) Arthritis Care Res. (Hobokin) 70(11): 1569–1575. As a result, Spring Loaded braces may provide patients with outcomes similar to weight loss or help them achieve additional weight loss by improving their mobility and activity levels 6– Budarick, A.R. et al. (2020) J. Prosthet. Orthot. Under Peer Review..