What Is A Knee Orthosis? - With Mention of the Knee's Complexity.

A Knee Orthosis is another way of saying, Knee Brace.

In the past, knee orthoses (knee braces) have been typically used to correct congenital deformities around the knee. (Congenital meaning : a condition that is present from birth). One such example of a congenital deformity is that of genu varum. A knee brace can be applied to help straighten out the joint as a child grows. (Technically, the brace would affect the epiphyseal growth at the distal femoral and proximal tibial growth plates.)

More recently, knee braces have become more popular in the athletic population. This change of knee support for athletes Dates back as early as the 1970s, with the introduction of the Lenox Hill derotational brace. Primarily, these knee braces were designed to protect individuals with functional deficits that were secondary to injuring their ACL. The successful use of these braces led to the creation of both the prophylactic and rehabilitative knee orthosis.

The Sports Medicine Committee of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons has classified knee braces into the following three categories : functional, rehabilitative, and prophylactic.

The knee has been classified as a diarthrodial (hinged joint). Although a hinge, to most people is a simple back and forth motion, the knee is more complex. It movements involve a variable of axes, and can move in three separate planes of motion. These planes of motion are 1.) Flexion and extension, rotational and the coronal plane. Therefore, if a knee brace is to be well designed, the orthosis must accommodate the normal roll-back and glide mechanism of the knee with obligatory axial rotation of the joint as well.

To obtain a well designed knee brace that accommodtes the normal range of motion at your knee joint, it is important to get a brace from a professional, and not just a bogus online salesmen that knows nothing about braces. For more information, visit us online at http://www.drbraceco.com/