This paper presents an algorithm for automatically computing the planar patterns of custom-made assistive medical braces, which are employed to restrict the motion of the joints (such as wrist and knee) that suffer from musculoskeletal disorders caused by repetitive strain injuries. An elastic brace is manufactured by warping a planar elastic fabric pattern. With a specified material, different...

INTRODUCTION Valgus unloader knee braces (VUB) are designed to decrease medial compartment knee loading and are effective at improving the clinical status of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) [1]. Whether medial comparment unloading is a consistent result of VUB or whether other kinematic and kinetic alterations occur while the VUB is worn during gait requires further exploration. The purp...

Background. The injured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) has a limited healing capacity leading to persisting instability. Hypothesis/Purpose. To study if the application of a brace, producing a dynamic posterior drawer force, after acute ACL injury reduces initial instability. Study Design. Cohort study. Methods. Patients treated with the ACL-Jack brace were compared to controls treated with p...

Mental distractions and physical impairments can increase the risk of accidents by affecting a driver's ability to control the vehicle. In this article, we developed a linear mathematical model that can be used to quantitatively predict drivers' performance over a variety of possible driving conditions. Predictions were not limited only to conditions tested, but also included linear combination...

OBJECTIVE In osteoarthritis (OA) clinical trials, a pain measure that is most sensitive to change is considered optimal. We compared sensitivity to change of patient-reported pain outcomes, including a patient-preference measure (where the patient nominates an activity that aggravates their pain). METHODS We used data from 2 trials of patients with confirmed (American College of Rheumatology ...

Patellar dislocations are a common injury in the emergency department. The conservative management consists of immobilisation with a cylinder cast, posterior splint or removable knee brace. No consensus seems to exist on the most appropriate means of conservative treatment or the duration of immobilisation. Therefore the aims of this review were first to examine whether immobilisation with a cy...

BACKGROUND Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a frequent cause of anterior knee pain predominantly affecting young female patients who do not have significant chondral damage. Development of PFPS is probably multifactorial, involving various knee, hip, and foot kinematic factors. Biomechanical studies have described patellar maltracking and dynamic valgus (functional malalignment) in patien...

A series of 29 patients with fractures of the tibial plateau were treated by means of a cast-brace. There were seven wedge fractures of the lateral tibial condyle, two dicondylar fractures and 20 compression fractures involving the lateral tibial plateau. The seven patients with wedge fractures were treated by skin or skeletal traction, followed as soon as possible by flexion exercises for the ...

PURPOSE The Ponseti method for treating clubfoot was introduced in Norway in 2003, and a cohort of children has been followed for 8 to 11 years. In a previous study, we found good results after follow-up of two to five years, with 3% rate of extensive surgery (posterior release or posteromedial release). During 8 to 11 years of follow-up, the rate of extensive surgery increased to 11%. The chil...

Braces are commonly used for the management of musculoskeletal injuries. With improvements in design and application, the knee brace has gained recognition by many as a treatment and prevention modality. However, there exist many different categories of knee braces, leading to confusion among many end users. The theoretical basis of the mechanism of action of the unloader, prophylactic, patello...