Medial Unloader Braces and Lateral Heel Wedges Do Not Alter Gait Biomechanics in Healthy Young Adults.

CONTEXT: Orthotic devices such as medial unloader knee braces and lateral heel wedges may limit cartilage loading following trauma or surgical repair. However, little is known regarding their effects on gait biomechanics in young, healthy individuals who are at risk of cartilage injury during physical activity due to greater athletic exposure compared to older adults.

OBJECTIVE: Determine the effect of medial unloader braces and lateral heel wedges on lower extremity kinematics and kinetics in healthy, young adults.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional cross-over design.

SETTING: Laboratory setting.

PATIENTS: Healthy, young adults who were recreationally activity (30 min/day for 3 days/week) between 18-35 years old who were free from orthopedic injury for at least 6 months and no history of lower extremity orthopedic surgery.

INTERVENTIONS: All subjects completed normal over ground walking with a medial unloader brace at two different tension settings and a lateral heel wedge for a total of four separate walking conditions.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Frontal plane knee angle at heelstrike, peak varus angle, peak internal knee valgus moment, and frontal plane angular impulse were compared across conditions.

RESULTS: The medial unloader brace at 50% (-2.04 ± 3.53°) and 100% (-1.80 ± 3.63°) maximum load placed the knee in a significantly more valgus orientation at heelstrike compared to the lateral heel wedge condition (-0.05 ± 2.85°). However this difference has minimal clinical relevance. Neither of the orthotic devices altered knee kinematics or kinetics relative to the control condition.

CONCLUSIONS: Though effective in older adults and individuals with varus knee alignment, medial unloader braces and lateral heel wedges do not influence gait biomechanics in young, healthy individuals.