Trial reportPloS one2022
Effect of a valgus brace on medial tibiofemoral joint contact force in knee osteoarthritis with varus malalignment: A within-participant cross-over randomised study with an uncontrolled observational longitudinal follow-up.
Trial report in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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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.
The trial behind it
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Trial
- Valgus bracing can relocate cartilage contact pressure away from bone marrow lesions and full-thickness cartilage defects in varus-malaligned medial knee osteoarthritis.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2026Article
- Study on the Influence of Protector Design on the Biomechanical Characteristics of Knee Joint Movement.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Does Valgus Bracing Reduce Estimates of Medial Tibial, Medial Femoral, and Patella Cartilage Contact Pressure in Varus Malaligned Medial Knee Osteoarthritis?Clinical orthopaedics and related research · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrevious investigations on valgus knee bracing have mostly used the external knee adduction moment. This is a critical limitation, as the external knee adduction moment does not account for muscle forces that contribute substantially to the medial tibiofemoral contact force (MTCF) during walking. The aims of this pilot study were to: 1) determine the effect of a valgus knee brace on MTCF; 2) determine whether the effect is more pronounced after 8 weeks of brace use; 3) assess the feasibility of an 8-week brace intervention.
methodsParticipants with medial radiographic knee OA and varus malalignment were fitted with an Össur Unloader One© brace. Participants were instructed to wear the brace for 8 weeks. The MTCF was estimated via an electromyogram-assisted neuromuscular model with and without the knee brace at week 0 and week 8. Feasibility outcomes included change in symptoms, quality of life, confidence, acceptability, adherence and adverse events.
resultsOf the 30 (60% male) participants enrolled, 28 (93%) completed 8-week outcome assessments. There was a main effect of the brace (p<0.001) on peak MTCF and MTCF impulse, but no main effect for time (week 0 and week 8, p = 0.10), and no interaction between brace and time (p = 0.62). Wearing the brace during walking significantly reduced the peak MTCF (-0.05 BW 95%CI [-0.10, -0.01]) and MTCF impulse (-0.07 BW.s 95%CI [-0.09, -0.05]). Symptoms and quality of life improved by clinically relevant magnitudes over the 8-week intervention. Items relating to confidence and acceptability were rated relatively highly. Participants wore the brace on average 6 hrs per day. Seventeen participants reported 30 minor adverse events over an 8-week period.
conclusionAlthough significant, reductions in the peak MTCF and MTCF while wearing the knee brace were small. No effect of time on MTCF was observed. Although there were numerous minor adverse events, feasibility outcomes were generally favourable.
trial registrationAustralian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (12619000622101).
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