United States

The U.S. bracing and supports market includes knee bracing and supports, ankle bracing and supports, spinal orthoses, back soft goods, upper extremity bracing and soft goods and pain management (including cold therapy and pain infusion pumps). Most of these markets are expected to experience slow to moderate growth because of an aging U.S. population, growing prevalence of obesity and osteoarthritis and increasing use of braces as prophylaxis to prevent sporting injuries. The knee bracing and supports market is expected to remain the largest segment, but overall growth will be driven by the spinal orthosis and pain management markets. The spinal orthosis segment is particularly fast-growing due to the strong correlation between an aging population and the incidence of lower back problems that may require spinal orthoses to prevent further injury or control stability post-surgery.