Unloader knee braces are often used by those who have sustained a tibial plateau fracture and want to return to sports such as skiing.
A tibial plateau fracture is a break through the top of the shin bone at the knee joint.
It is an "intra-articular" fracture meaning that the break goes through the joint surface itself. This leads to a significantly higher risk of osteoarthritis. Because of this, active people are using an unloader knee brace to decrease the load on the affected compartment when they return to demanding sports like skiing.
Many surgeon explain to their tibial plateau fracture patients that they will need a knee replacement at some time in the future. The only thing that is unknown is when. Anyone looking to test their knee in more physically stressful sports should investigate non-operative ways of decreasing the forces through their knee.
