The Effect of Foot Progression Angle on Knee Joint Compression Force During Walking

It is unclear how rotations of the lower limb affect the knee joint compression forces during walking. Increases in the frontal plane knee moment have been reported when walking with internally rotated feet and a decrease when walking with externally rotated feet. The aim of this study was to investigate the knee joint compressive forces during walking with internal, external and normal foot rotation and to determine if the frontal plane knee joint moment is an adequate surrogate for the compression forces in the medial and lateral knee joint compartments under such gait modifications. Ten healthy males walked at a fixed speed of 4.5 km/h under three conditions: Normal walking, internally rotated and externally rotated. All gait trials were recorded by six infrared cameras. Net joint moments were calculated by 3D inverse dynamics. The results revealed that the medial knee joint compartment compression force increased during external foot rotation and the lateral knee joint compartment compression force increased during internal foot rotation. The increases in joint loads may be a result of increased knee flexion angles. Further, these data suggest that the frontal plane knee joint moment is not a valid surrogate measure for knee joint compression forces but rather indicates the medial-to-lateral load distribution.

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Inverse dynamics versus a simplified 3D knee joint moment: a potential method for real-time biofeedback during gait modifications

Gait & Posture ◽

10.1016/j.gaitpost.2019.07.217 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 73 ◽

pp. 443-444

Keyword(s):

Knee Joint ◽

Real Time ◽

Inverse Dynamics ◽

Potential Method ◽

Joint Moment ◽

Knee Joint Moment

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Mechanical correction of dynamometer moment for the effects of segment motion during isometric knee-extension tests

Journal of Applied Physiology ◽

10.1152/japplphysiol.00821.2010 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 111 (1) ◽

pp. 68-74 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Dimitrios E. Tsaopoulos ◽

Vasilios Baltzopoulos ◽

Paula J. Richards ◽

Constantinos N. Maganaris

Keyword(s):

Knee Joint ◽

Inverse Dynamics ◽

Knee Extension ◽

Joint Moment ◽

Skin Marker ◽

Isometric Knee Extension ◽

Free Body ◽

Knee Joint Moment ◽

The Moment ◽

Joint Center

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of dynamometer and joint axis misalignment on measured isometric knee-extension moments using inverse dynamics based on the actual joint kinematic information derived from the real-time X-ray video and to compare the errors when the moments were calculated using measurements from external anatomical surface markers or obtained from the isokinetic dynamometer. Six healthy males participated in this study. They performed isometric contractions at 90° and 20° of knee flexion, gradually increasing to maximum effort. For the calculation of the actual knee-joint moment and the joint moment relative to the knee-joint center, determined using the external marker, two free body diagrams were used of the Cybex arm and the lower leg segment system. In the first free body diagram, the mean center of the circular profiles of the femoral epicondyles was used as the knee-joint center, whereas in the second diagram, the joint center was assumed to coincide with the external marker. Then, the calculated knee-joint moments were compared with those measured by the dynamometer. The results indicate that 1) the actual knee-joint moment was different from the dynamometer recorded moment (difference ranged between 1.9% and 4.3%) and the moment calculated using the skin marker (difference ranged between 2.5% and 3%), and 2) during isometric knee extension, the internal knee angle changed significantly from rest to the maximum contraction state by about 19°. Therefore, these differences cannot be neglected if the moment–knee-joint angle relationship or the muscle mechanical properties, such as length-tension relationship, need to be determined.

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