Efficacy Study of an Unloading Brace for Knee Osteoarthritis

NCT ID: NCT02150057

Last Updated: 2019-10-22

Study Results

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Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

51 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2010-02-28

Study Completion Date

2013-05-31

Brief Summary

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Subjects with symptomatic unicompartmental osteoarthritis of the knee will be invited to participate in this randomized study. Subjects will be assigned to either a Fusion Osteoarthritis Knee Brace group, or a control group that does not wear a brace. It is hypothesized that use of the Fusion Osteoarthritis Knee Brace will have a better outcome on osteoarthritis knee pain and quality of life compared to those who do not receive bracing intervention.

Detailed Description

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This investigation will recruit 72 subjects from the clinical population of the investigators with symptomatic unicompartmental osteoarthritis of the medial compartment of the knee who meet the inclusion criteria of the investigation. Subjects who meet the recruitment conditions will be prospectively randomized into one of two treatment groups for 6 month evaluation:

1. Fusion Osteoarthritis Knee Brace
2. No brace group

Inclusion Criteria:

* Age 30-80.
* History of medial unicompartmental knee pain \> 3 months duration (medial compartment only).
* Narrowing of medial joint space \< one half of lateral compartment
* Varus deformity no greater than 80
* Mild to moderate limitation in Activities of Daily Living (ADL's) and/or recreational activities.
* Must read and understand English language and demonstrate the ability and willingness to follow the protocol and complete the questionnaires and diaries.
* Manual dexterity sufficient to perform all tasks required of study participants.
* Willingness to wear the brace a minimum of 4 hours per day.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Arthritides other than osteoarthritis.
* Previous high tibial osteotomy of the affected knee.
* Previous surgery of affected knee other than diagnostic arthroscopy with joint debridement, soft tissue reconstruction, menisectomy.
* Fixed flexion deformities / limitations \>10 degrees as compared to the contralateral limb.
* Flexion limitation \> 20 degrees.
* Significant soft tissue compromise preventing long-term brace use.
* Peripheral vascular disease or other neurovascular complaints

Conditions

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Osteoarthritis of the Knee

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Subjects who meet the recruitment conditions will be prospectively randomized into one of two treatment groups for 6 month evaluation:

1. Breg Fusion Osteoarthritis Knee Brace
2. No brace group Both groups will be allowed to continue standard conservative treatment of osteoarthritis including anti-inflammatory medications, home exercises and joint supplements.
Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Caregivers
Two orthopedic surgeons will blindly grade the osteoarthritis and calculate the mechanical axis and knee angles. The two surgeons' measurements will be averaged. One surgeon's measurements will be repeated to determine intra-observer reliability.

Study Groups

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Control Group

This group receives no experimental bracing intervention in the study.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Experimental Group

This group will receive the Breg Fusion Osteoarthritis Knee Unloading Brace to wear for a determined amount of time per study protocol for the treatment of osteoarthritis pain.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Breg Fusion Unloading Brace

Intervention Type DEVICE

This group is assigned to wear an unloading brace and report pain and quality of life by completion of a pain diary and related questionnaires.

Interventions

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Breg Fusion Unloading Brace

This group is assigned to wear an unloading brace and report pain and quality of life by completion of a pain diary and related questionnaires.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Other Intervention Names

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Breg Fusion Osteoarthritis Knee Unloading Brace

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Age 30-80.
* History of medial unicompartmental knee pain \> 3 months duration (medial compartment only).
* Narrowing of medial joint space \< one half of lateral compartment
* Varus deformity no greater than 80
* Mild to moderate limitation in Activities of Daily Living (ADL's) and/or recreational activities.
* Must read and understand English language and demonstrate the ability and willingness to follow the protocol and complete the questionnaires and diaries.
* Manual dexterity sufficient to perform all tasks required of study participants.
* Willingness to wear the brace a minimum of 4 hours per day.

Exclusion Criteria

* Arthritides other than osteoarthritis.
* Previous high tibial osteotomy of the affected knee.
* Previous surgery of affected knee other than diagnostic arthroscopy with joint debridement, soft tissue reconstruction, menisectomy.
* Fixed flexion deformities / limitations \>10 degrees as compared to the contralateral limb.
* Flexion limitation \> 20 degrees.
* Significant soft tissue compromise preventing long-term brace use.
* Peripheral vascular disease or other neurovascular complaints.
* Leg-length discrepancy \> 2cm.
Minimum Eligible Age

30 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

80 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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BREG, Inc

INDUSTRY

Sponsor Role collaborator

Andrews Research & Education Foundation

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Roger Ostrander, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine

Locations

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Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine

Gulf Breeze, Florida, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Pollo FE. Bracing and heel wedging for unicompartmental osteoarthritis of the knee. Am J Knee Surg. 1998 Winter;11(1):47-50. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 9606092 (View on PubMed)

Pollo FE, Otis JC, Backus SI, Warren RF, Wickiewicz TL. Reduction of medial compartment loads with valgus bracing of the osteoarthritic knee. Am J Sports Med. 2002 May-Jun;30(3):414-21. doi: 10.1177/03635465020300031801.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Matsuno H, Kadowaki KM, Tsuji H. Generation II knee bracing for severe medial compartment osteoarthritis of the knee. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1997 Jul;78(7):745-9. doi: 10.1016/s0003-9993(97)90083-6.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 9228878 (View on PubMed)

Kirkley A, Webster-Bogaert S, Litchfield R, Amendola A, MacDonald S, McCalden R, Fowler P. The effect of bracing on varus gonarthrosis. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1999 Apr;81(4):539-48. doi: 10.2106/00004623-199904000-00012.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 10225800 (View on PubMed)

Katsuragawa Y, Fukui N, Nakamura K. Change of bone mineral density with valgus knee bracing. Int Orthop. 1999;23(3):164-7. doi: 10.1007/s002640050337.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 10486029 (View on PubMed)

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15558372 (View on PubMed)

Draper ER, Cable JM, Sanchez-Ballester J, Hunt N, Robinson JR, Strachan RK. Improvement in function after valgus bracing of the knee. An analysis of gait symmetry. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2000 Sep;82(7):1001-5. doi: 10.1302/0301-620x.82b7.10638.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11041589 (View on PubMed)

Divine JG, Hewett TE. Valgus bracing for degenerative knee osteoarthritis: relieving pain, improving gait, and increasing activity. Phys Sportsmed. 2005 Feb;33(2):40-6. doi: 10.3810/psm.2005.02.48.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Birmingham TB, Kramer JF, Kirkley A, Inglis JT, Spaulding SJ, Vandervoort AA. Knee bracing for medial compartment osteoarthritis: effects on proprioception and postural control. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2001 Mar;40(3):285-9. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/40.3.285.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Barnes CL, Cawley PW, Hederman B. Effect of CounterForce brace on symptomatic relief in a group of patients with symptomatic unicompartmental osteoarthritis: a prospective 2-year investigation. Am J Orthop (Belle Mead NJ). 2002 Jul;31(7):396-401.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Other Identifiers

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BREG72609

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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