In vivo medial and lateral tibial loads during dynamic and high flexion activities

Though asymmetric loading between the medial and lateral compartments of total knee replacements may contribute to implant loosening and failure, the in vivo contact force distribution during dynamic daily activities remains unknown. This study reports in vivo medial and lateral contact forces experienced by a well-aligned knee implant for a variety of activities. In vivo implant motion and total axial load data were collected from a single knee replacement patient performing treadmill gait (hands resting on handlebars), step up/down, lunge, and kneel activities. In vivo motion was measured using video fluoroscopy, while in vivo axial loads were collected simultaneously using an instrumented tibial component. An elastic foundation contact model employing linear and nonlinear polyethylene material properties was constructed to calculate medial and lateral contact forces based on the measured kinematics, total axial loads, and centers of pressure. For all activities, the predicted medial and lateral contact forces were insensitive to the selected material model. The percentage of medial to total contact force ranged from 18 to 60 for gait, 47 to 65 for step up/down, and 55 to 60 for kneel and lunge. At maximum load during the motion cycle, medial force was 1.2 BW for gait and 2.0 BW for step up/down, while the corresponding lateral forces were 1.0 and 1.5 BW, respectively. At mean load in the final static pose, medial force was 0.2 BW for kneel and 0.9 BW for lunge, with corresponding lateral forces of 0.1 and 0.7 BW, respectively. For this patient, a constant load split of 55% medial-45% lateral during loaded activity would be a reasonable approximation for these test conditions.