Temporary postoperative treatment with compartment-unloading knee braces or wedge insoles does not improve clinical outcome after partial meniscectomy

70 patients scheduled for arthroscopic partial meniscectomy were randomized to postoperative use of either a compartment-unloading knee brace, wedged insole or no treatment. Outcomes of interest included patient reported outcomes (IKDC; KOOS symptom, pain, quality of life, sport and recreation, activities daily living sub-scales; MARX physical activity score; Short Form-12 physical and mental scores). Follow up was performed at 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months and 12 months. The results from the study found significant improvements over time in all outcomes except the SF-12 mental score. In all KOOS subscales, postoperative treatment with either the unloader brace or wedge insole possessed higher mean scores compared to the no treatment control group, though group-by-time interactions for all outcomes were not significant.