Benefits of Bracing
Pain Relief
The pain of osteoarthritis (OA) can be made worse by poor posture, increase body weight, lack of activity, abnormal joint motion and improper gait (walking). Bracing can help to lessen pain by reducing stress and weight on affected joints.
Improved Stability
People with OA in a major joint, such as the knee, often experience some degree of instability. For example, when walking, the knee may buckle or give way. Such joint instability can cause pain and discomfort. Even worse, it can increase the rate that cartilage breaks down in the affected joint.
Most braces for osteoarthritis are designed to improve joint stability. Mechanical stability is improved with bracing through the reduction of abnormal knee motion. A knee brace can improve the level of stability at the knee joint by increasing proprioception for someone with OA. Proprioception refers to a person’s awareness of his or her own body’s posture, movement and position. Braces can improve proprioception by increasing tactile feedback and providing additional input to the person’s sensory system. This gives the person wearing the brace improved ability to perceive and react to forces inside and outside of his or her body. Additionally, braces act as stabilizers, providing physical support as well as a sense of security. By increasing stability, a brace also may help prevent falls.
Load Redistribution and Joint Alignment
Through a process called shifting and sharing, some OA braces attempt to relieve pain by redistributing the weight load on the affected compartment of the joint. Braces shift the weight away from the diseased compartment of the joint to the unaffected compartment. The shifting and sharing of the weight load helps to correct joint alignment in cases of varus or valgus deformities.
Braces designed to redistribute load and correct joint alignment are particularly beneficial for people with OA in only one compartment of the knee. If the disease affects all compartments of a joint, this type of bracing may not be suitable.
Increased Function
Braces can help people with OA perform activities of daily living with less pain. For instance, studies testing the functionality of knee braces have shown that these orthotic devices increase the ability of a person with knee OA to do everyday activities more easily, such as walking and going up and down stairs.
