People suffering from knee osteoarthritis (OA) are likely to have pain in the patellofemoral joint (PF) that stems from possible patellar malalignment. In fact, 65% of all knee OA cases involve the PF. Taping the patella helps alleviate this PF pain, but repeated use of tape can irritate the skin and is hard for older adults to apply on their own. This research sought to answer the question of whether a knee brace with a patellar stabilizing strap could give similar pain-relieving results as taping to avoid the limitations of PF taping.
Sadly, this particular model of knee brace was unable to make any difference for the 67 people in this trial over the course of 6 weeks. The control brace, which was the same as the treatment brace but with the patellar stabilizing strap removed, had exactly the same effect as the “active” brace.
That being said, the positive effect of taping may be recapitulated in a different knee brace since each model is constructed differently. The caveat for taping is that the definitive taping studies used younger patients with general knee joint pain, rather than specific PF osteoarthritis cohorts. The authors argue that this narrower patient population would have given them a better chance at seeing clinically relevant differences in this bracing study. However, they conclude from their data that knee bracing for older patients with non-traumatic knee OA may not be effective at reducing pain, and the challenge of finding a non-pharmaceutical intervention for knee osteoarthritis remains.
Article Cited:
Hunter, DJ et al. “A randomized trial of patellofemoral bracing for treatment of patellofemoral osteoarthritis”. OA & C Vol. 19, Issue 7, pp792-800.
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