Knee brace

[Techguy727]

Hello there! I had a lateral meniscus tear which I had arthiscopic knee surgery on 2 years ago. The Dr told me that I had developed arthritis in it. Even after a few years later I have pain and I'm meloxicam 15mg once a day. My questions are: will it help to wear a brace on that knee? If so what kind should I wear? Regular, hinged, unloader or another kind? There are so many models available. The clinic I went to gave me a hinged knee brace by futuro. I would like something to protect my knee from further injury and keep pain and swelling down. I had one brace before that got real tight when I sat down, I really did not like that. Thanks very much an have a great day! :)

[ToddJWhitson]

A related discussion, Do I need a  knee brace after my ACL surgery? was started.

[Jadmas]

A related discussion, knee-orthosis was started.

[Michael L Gross, MD]

If you are going to use a brace, I would suggest an "unloader" brace. These are manufactured by several companies, and are designed to take the weight off the affected compartment; in your case, the lateral compartment.
Other non-surgical alternatives are visco-supplementation, with hyalurinic acid. I also frequently recommend my patients take Omega-3 fish oil which contains natural anti-inflammatories, and has been shown to decrease symptoms in arthritic knees. Finally, I have also had success using complimentary medicine therapies such as acupuncture.