Researchers conducted a study designed to determine the effectiveness of the new UniReliever knee brace as compared to the widely used Unloader One X device.
In this open-label, three-arm parallel-group randomized trial, 60 patients with medial knee osteoarthritis (Kellgren-Lawrence grade II‒IV), 34 male and 26 female with a mean age of 69.62 ± 9.57 years and mean body mass index of 26.86 ± 3.18 kg/m2, were recruited from an orthopedic center.
The patients were randomly allocated to receive a UniReliever device, an Unloader One X device, or no knee brace (control). The primary outcome was the change in the pain-free walking distance from baseline to six weeks. Other measures included the Lequesne index, pain on exertion, range of motion, and analgesic use.
Researchers found that the mean pain-free walking distance more than doubled for the UniReliever group and the Unloader One X group, but not for the controls. The Lequesne index and pain on exertion also improved for the two knee brace groups, and the use of analgesics fell. There were no serious adverse events.
As a result, researchers found that the UniReliever offloading knee brace can improve mobility and reduce pain in patients with medial knee osteoarthritis. The benefits are similar compared with the Unloader One X, researchers concluded.
The open access study “The effectiveness of the UniReliever offloading knee brace for treating medial knee osteoarthritis: A randomized clinical trial,” was published in Prosthetics and Orthotics International.
