Results demonstrate that wearing the TCO lowers quadriceps muscle effort and internal knee extension moments during a chair rise and lower movement as well as a stair descent (Figure 2). These findings are important because both of these measures have been shown to contribute to patellofemoral (PF) and tibiofemoral (TF) joint offloading. The results therefore corroborate earlier research demonstrating the capacity of a TCO to produce PF and TF joint offloading.2
This study is the first to capture the effect of wearing the TCO on quadriceps muscle activity in knee OA patients and provides strong evidence supporting the proposed mechanism of offloading the knee joint. Participants reported lower levels of pain while wearing the Spring Loaded brace, suggesting that there is an immediate effect of the TCO on knee pain during these weight-bearing activities.