Category: Tremor
Objective: To clarify the effect of wearing knee braces (KB) on unsteadiness on standing in a case with primary orthostatic tremor (OT) using stabilometry and surface electromyography (SEMG).
Background: OT is characterized by leg tremor with the distinctive frequency range of 13-18 Hz and subjective unsteadiness only on standing still but absent when sitting or lying, improved by walking or leaning. Patients with OT tend to avoid situations like queuing and the quality of life of the patients is reported to be markedly affected. Some conditions of standing are known to reduce unsteadiness and OT patients tend to stand with their feet apart or leaning against something like wall. Our OT case reported to us that the unsteadiness was improved by wearing KB.
Method: Stabilometry and SEMG were performed with and without wearing KB on standing with her feet together and apart in a female case in her fifties diagnosed to have OT according to the established diagnostic criteria. The data of SEMG were analyzed using CED Spike 2 software.
Results: The objective unsteadiness measured by stabilometry was improved by wearing KB. The frequencies of muscle discharges were around 15 Hz both with and without wearing KB, and the amplitude of muscle discharges was reduced by wearing KB, and the amplitude was higher with her feet together.
Conclusion: Wearing KB was shown to be effective in reducing the unsteadiness of OT objectively, and the reduction of the amplitude of muscle discharges was suggested to be related to the effect. Wearing KB might be a new measure to relieve OT symptoms and contribute to improving quality of life of the OT patients.
These data are also presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Neurology on May 18-21, 2022, and 16th Congress of the Movement Disorder Society of Japan on July 21-23, 2022.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
J. Tashiro, H. Ohtsuka, H. Fukaura, M. Hirotani, Y. Iida, T. Takahashi, S. Hamada, M. Nonaka, S. Honma, A. Takei, F. Moriwaka, K. Tashiro. Effect of wearing knee braces on unsteadiness on standing in a case with primary orthostatic tremor [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2022; 37 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/effect-of-wearing-knee-braces-on-unsteadiness-on-standing-in-a-case-with-primary-orthostatic-tremor/. Accessed June 14, 2025.« Back to 2022 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/effect-of-wearing-knee-braces-on-unsteadiness-on-standing-in-a-case-with-primary-orthostatic-tremor/