Development of a Tool for Analyzing 3D Knee Kinematic Characteristics of Different Daily Activities

This study provides a basic understanding of the kinematic characteristics of the knee during different daily activities based on a functional knee analyzer, which allows a three-dimensional evaluation of the knee in motion. The results showed that there was significant difference in knee motion between the patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and normal subjects during lunging, squatting and no weight-bearing knee flexion-extension. The data obtained by the knee analyzer was sensitive enough to distinguish young and middle-aged subjects from OA subjects during different daily activities; squatting gave the best results. On the other hand, the OA and elderly subjects had similar knee flexion and adduction angle profiles. This founding may partially explain the increased prevalence of OA in elderly people. The results support the use of functional knee analyzer for biomechanical analysis of daily activities, especially squatting, as a clinical evaluation tool for patients with knee osteoarthritis.