MECHANICAL INTERVENTIONS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS: AN OA TRIAL BANK INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPANT DATA META-ANALYSIS INITIATIVE STATUS UPDATE

Purpose: Treatment for knee osteoarthritis (OA) may aim to alter biomechanics and reduce joint loads through the application or wear of mechanical interventions like bracing, taping, insoles, footwear, or mobility aids. The OARSI guidelines conditionally recommend use of mobility aids and wedged insoles for knee OA management, but conditionally to strongly recommend against taping and bracing, based on a lack of clear efficacy from low quality evidence. However, knee OA is a heterogeneous condition, and it may be that clearly defined subgroups of patients may be more likely to respond to mechanical interventions.We are conducting a systematic review with individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating mechanical interventions to treat painful knee OA.