Title

A Sex Comparison of Ambulatory Mechanics Relevant to Osteoarthritis in Individuals With and Without Asymptomatic Varus Knee Alignment

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-2014

Publication Source

Journal of Applied Biomechanics

Abstract

The prevalence of medial knee osteoarthritis is greater in females and is associated with varus knee alignment. During gait, medial knee osteoarthritis has been linked to numerous alterations. Interestingly, there has been no research exploring sex differences during walking in healthy individuals with and without varus alignment. Therefore, the gait mechanics of 30 asymptomatic individuals with varus knees (15 females) and 30 normally-aligned controls (15 females) were recorded. Gait parameters associated with medial knee osteoarthritis were analyzed with two-factor analyses of variance. In result, varus males exhibited the greatest peak knee adduction moments, while normal females showed the greatest peak hip adduction angles and pelvic drop excursions. By sex, females exhibited greater peak hip adduction angles and moments and greater pelvic drop excursion, but lesser peak knee adduction angles. By alignment type, varus subjects exhibited greater peak knee adduction angles and moments, midstance knee flexion angles and excursion, and eversion angles and lateral ground reaction forces, but lesser peak hip adduction angles. In conclusion, females generally presented with proximal mechanics related to greater hip adduction, whereas males presented with more knee adduction. Varus subjects demonstrated a number of alterations associated with medial knee osteoarthritis. The differential sex effects were far less conclusive.

Inclusive pages

632-636

ISBN/ISSN

1065-8483

Comments

Permission documentation is on file.

Publisher

Human Kinetics

Volume

30

Issue

5

Peer Reviewed

yes

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