Bracing to Treat Knee Osteoarthritis in Elderly

June 30, 2016 updated by: Christine Brumini, Federal University of São Paulo

Effectiveness of Knee Bracing in Elderly With Knee Osteoarthritis: a Randomized, Controlled Trial

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is highly prevalent in the elderly, with the knee being the most commonly affected joint in this population. Knee braces are often used to prevent common problems in knees during daily activities. The purpose of these devices is to decrease pain and improve functionality. In the literature some studies have tested the effectiveness of unloader brace for valgus or varus. However, the braces most used in the investigators' clinical setting and the less costly ones have not been described in quality studies in the literature. There are only few studies on this subject and they are methodologically inadequate. There are no studies that compared the effectiveness between the knee brace with metal hinges (no alignment) and knee brace without metal hinges. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of knee braces on pain, function and quality of life in the elderly with knee OA. Methods: Elderly with knee OA, both genders, with pain scale 3-7cm on a 10cm pain numeric scale were included. Of the 222 patients screened, 120 met the eligibility criteria and were randomized to the groups: without metal hinges, with metal hinges or control group. The groups without and with metal hinges received knee brace and were instructed to use it in daily activities, every day, during three months. Assessment for pain (NPS), function (WOMAC and Knee Lequesne) and quality of life (SF-36) were done at baseline and after 45, 90 and 180 days by a blinded assessor.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

120

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Brazil
    • SP
      • Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil, 04023900
        • Federal University of São Paulo

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

60 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • pain in numerical pain scale between 3 and 7cm;
  • Knee ligamentous instability

Exclusion Criteria:

  • fibromyalgia and neurologic disease;
  • knee or hip replacement
  • surgery scheduled in the following 6 months
  • start physical activity or received joint injection in the past three months
  • need to use walking aids or brace in knee

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Knee brace group
Patients received knee brace with hinges (Fisiotensor®) and were instructed to use it in daily activities, every day, during six months
Device: Brace (Fisiotensor®)
Experimental: Knee sleeve group
Patients received knee sleeve without hinges (Fisiotensor®) and were instructed to use it in daily activities, every day, during six months
Device: Sleeve (Fisiotensor®)
No Intervention: Control group
Keep medication usual

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Change in pain measured by a numeric pain scale
Time Frame: Baseline, after 45, 90 and 180 days
Baseline, after 45, 90 and 180 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Change in function measured by Lequesne and WOMAC questionnaires
Time Frame: Baseline, after 45, 90 and 180 days
Baseline, after 45, 90 and 180 days
Change in quality of life measured by SF-36 questionnaire
Time Frame: Baseline, after 45, 90 and 180 days
Baseline, after 45, 90 and 180 days

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Federal University of São Paulo

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

April 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2015

Study Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 8, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 13, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

May 14, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

July 1, 2016

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 30, 2016

Last Verified

June 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CEP 1248/09

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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