Effectiveness of Common Supportive Orthosis in Relieving Patients Suffering from Knee Osteoarthrosis

Knee osteoarthrosis is a common cause of referring to orthopaedic centers. Conservative treatment for such patients lies in analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs, physical therapy and supportive orthosis. Daily using of orthosis and during activity for 6 to 12 weeks is an accepted method of treatment. The aim of this research was to detect the effects of three kinds of orthosis, Knee brace, neoprene brace and insole arch support, on pain, knee alignment and functional activity level in patients with knee osteoarthrosis. 45 patients (aged 50-60), with mild to moderate knee osteoarthrosis participated in this experimental study. All the cases were divided into three groups randomly. They all used orthosis for months. The study was carried out in a semi-experimental method. The results of this study showed no positive effects by the orthoses on the patients’ knee alignment, but they could cause a considerable relief in their pain-suffering and an effective increase in the patients daily performances. According to the finds of this study, using medical shoes with external margins can relive patients suffering from knee osteoarthrosis considerably and provide them with a specific relaxation. However, neoprene knee-braces do not seem to make any change in knee alignment.