Title

Lower Extremity Walking Mechanics of Young Individuals with Asymptomatic Varus Knee Alignment

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-2009

Publication Source

Journal of Orthopaedic Research

Abstract

Varus knee alignment is associated with an increased risk for developing medial knee osteoarthritis (OA). Medial knee OA is commonly associated with altered walking mechanics in the frontal and sagittal planes, as well as altered ground reaction forces. It is unknown whether these mechanics are present in young, asymptomatic individuals with varus knees. We expected that varus‐aligned individuals would generally present with frontal plane mechanics that were similar to those reported for individuals with medial knee OA. The gait mechanics of 17 asymptomatic individuals with varus knees and 17 healthy, normally aligned controls were recorded. Gait parameters associated with medial knee OA were compared between groups. The individuals with varus knees exhibited greater knee external adduction moments, knee adduction, eversion, and lateral ground reaction force than the normally aligned individuals. In addition, those with varus knees also demonstrated increased knee flexion and external knee flexor moments during midstance. These results suggest that individuals with varus knees exhibit some, but not all, of the altered mechanics seen in medial knee OA.

Inclusive pages

1414-1419

ISBN/ISSN

0736-0266

Comments

Permission documentation is on file.

Publisher

Wiley

Volume

27

Issue

11

Peer Reviewed

yes

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS