ArticleBMJ open sport & exercise medicine2016
Unloading knee brace is a cost-effective method to bridge and delay surgery in unicompartmental knee arthritis.
Article in BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of medical interventions on health-related quality of life in chronic disease - systematic review and meta-analysis of the 19 most common diagnoses.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- Hip and Knee Bracing: Categorization, Treatment Algorithm, and Systematic Review.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Valgus knee bracing may have no long-term effect on pain improvement and functional activity in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a meta-analysis of randomized trials.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2020Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The effectiveness of the UniReliever offloading knee brace for treating medial knee osteoarthritis: A randomized clinical trial.Prosthetics and orthotics international · 2026Trial
- Effectiveness and user experiences of a valgus brace in patients with knee osteoarthritis: A mixed-method randomised controlled trial.PloS one · 2025Trial
- Investigating the Effects of the UniReliever® Knee Brace Using Analysis of a Novel Digital Platform, MAI Motion.Cureus · 2026Article
- Knee Bracing for Unicompartmental Osteoarthritis: A Service Evaluation.Musculoskeletal care · 2025Article
- Functions and Effectiveness of Unloader, Patellofemoral, and Knee Sleeve Orthoses: A Review.Regenerative engineering and translational medicine · 2024Article
- Combined Rehabilitation Protocol in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis of the Knee: Comparative Study of Extremely Low-Frequency Magnetic Fields and Soft Elastic Knee Brace Effect.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Article
- Advantages and challenges of stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis (Review).Biomedical reports · 2021Review
- Can Medical Cannabis Therapies be Cost-Effective in the Non-Surgical Management of Chronic Knee Pain?Clinical medicine insights. Arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Article
- Biomechanical Study of a Tricompartmental Unloader Brace for Patellofemoral or Multicompartment Knee Osteoarthritis.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2020Article
- Article
- Effect of Germanium-Embedded Knee Sleeve on Osteoarthritis of the Knee.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2019Article
- An Update on Unloading Knee Braces in the Treatment of Unicompartmental Knee Osteoarthritis from the Last 10 Years: A Literature Review.Surgery journal (New York, N.Y.) · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundUnloading knee braces can provide good short-term pain relief for some patients with unicompartmental osteoarthritis (UOA). Their cost is relatively small compared with surgical interventions. However, no previous studies have reported their use over a duration of 5 years or more.
methodsUp to 8 years of prospective data were collected from 63 patients who presented with UOA. After conservative management with analgesia and physiotherapy, patients were offered an unloading brace. EQ-5D (EuroQol five dimensions) questionnaires were collected at baseline and after wearing the brace. Cost and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were compared with a total knee replacement (TKR) with an 8-month waiting duration and 8 years of results.
resultsPatients experienced a mean increase in EQ-5D of 0.42 with an average duration of wear of 26.1 months resulting in an increase of 0.44 in QALYs with a mean cost of £625. The adoption of an unloader knee brace was found to be a short-term cost-effective treatment option with an 8-month incremental cost effectiveness ratio of £9599. Compared with no treatment, the unloader knee brace can be considered cost effective at 4 months or more. At 8 years follow-up, the unloader knee brace demonstrated QALYs gain of 0.43 and with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of -£6467 compared with TKR.
conclusionUnloading knee braces are cost effective for the management of UOA. These findings strongly support the undertaking of further research into the long-term impact of unloading knee brace. The unloader knee brace has benefits to the National Health Service for capacity, budget, waiting list duration, frequency of surgery and reducing the required severity of surgical intervention.
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