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Northern Alberta Prosthetic & Orthotic Services Ltd. offers knee braces for daily activities, as well as athletic knee braces.

The two main causes for a custom knee brace are osteo-arthritis and ligament injury, or a combination of both. Your knees take a lot of wear and tear depending on your occupation, athleticism and daily activities. You may need unloading of one area of your knee or you may need support and protection against a certain movement. Custom knee orthothes can provide both off-loading support as well as guard against painful movements.

The Knee

Bones: Femur, Tibia, Fibula, Patella

4 Major ligaments:
Stabilize knee to protect against moving through uncontrolled motions

Medial Collateral

Lateral Collateral

Anterior Cruciate

Posterior Cruciate

Stabilize and prevent side to side motion of the knee

Stabilize and prevent front to back motion at the knee joint

Knee

Osteoarthritis

What is osteoarthritis?

Degeneration (wear and tear) of the cartilage that covers joint surfaces.

  • Ostes = Bone
  • Arthritis = Inflammation
  • Cartilage: creates a smooth surface at the ends of bones for easy and full range of motion at joints
What causes Osteoarthritis?

  • Ageing
  • Obesity
  • Sports injury / work accident
  • Genetics
Treatments

  • Exercises that focus on Range of Motion at joints and improving strength surrounding affected joint.
  • Weight management to reduce load on joints
  • Anti-inflammatory drugs/ heat and cold therapies
  • Surgery Ranges from: Removing damaged cartilage areas or smooth over rough areas to total knee replacement
  • Orthotic: Knee brace to offload painful area of joint and help keep the joint moving in a safe range of motion
Medial Joint

Picture shows Medial joint OA, Varus deformity.