Custom Knee Braces for Knee Osteoarthritis

Custom Braces might be the tool you need to get back to the activities you love!

Knee Osteoarthritis can impact every step of your day, and force you to miss out on hobbies, activities, work, and even time with family. Services like physiotherapy can be a crucial help, but the wear and tear continues. In Nova Scotia, the wait time for knee surgery can be years long – and lots of people would rather delay that step in any case. Since osteoarthritis involves the natural cushioning (the cartilage) between joints wearing away causing the bones of the knee joint to rub more closely against one another, the solution requires a way to prevent this rubbing action between the bones. Custom knee braces can be that solution! By decreasing the aggravating pressures in the knee, there is less wear and tear thereby slowing the progression of the osteoarthritis. We can never offer a cure, we can only offer time and an improved quality of life!

What Will You Gain from a Custom Knee Brace?

Enhanced stability
Improved Mobility
Reduced Swelling
Decreased Pain

Factors Affecting Brace Selection

Bracing specialists will take several factors into consideration when helping you select a brace including: your age, the specific components of your anatomy, and your activity level (and desired activity level).

#1 Factor for Determining which Type of Custom Brace You Need

How much of your knee is affected by the osteoarthritis.

The knee joint has three compartments: medial, lateral, and patellofemoral. If only medial or lateral compartments are affected by osteoarthritis, then a custom unloader brace is appropriate. If, on the other hand, all three compartments are involved a custom springloaded brace is the more logical choice.

Custom Unloader – this type of brace uses gentle pressure on one side of the knee to relieve pressure on the opposite side (the compartment with the osteoarthritis)
Custom Springloaded – the springloaded brace is unique in it’s ability to help remove pressure from all three compartments of the knee. In addition, this type of brace can be used to increase strength.

Clients can often use a custom unloader with the initial diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis, but over time as the other compartments become involved a springloaded brace will be needed.