Knee kinetics during walking at different speeds in people who have undergone total knee replacement

Previous research suggests that most people who have undergone total knee replacement (TKR) walk with a sagittal knee moment profile and peak knee moments that are different from normal. However, most previous research has consisted of small samples of patients with prostheses that are no longer in use. The aim of this study was to compare the peak knee moments and patterns of the moment waveforms of walking at different speeds between a large cohort of TKR patients with the Genesis-II PS prosthesis (Smith and Nephew, Memphis, USA) and matched control participants. Forty patients 12months following TKR and 40 control participants were assessed during walking at self-selected comfortable and fast speeds using motion analysis. Individual sagittal plane knee moment graphs were assessed for the presence of a biphasic pattern. Peak sagittal and coronal plane knee moments were compared between groups using a univariate ANOVA with walking speed as a covariate. A biphasic moment pattern was present in 87% and 92% of TKR patients when walking at comfortable and fast speeds, respectively. The knee flexor (p<0.001 at both speeds), extensor (p=0.004 at comfortable speed and p<0.001 at fast speed) and adductor (p<0.001 at both speeds) moments were reduced in the TKR patients. The high proportion of TKR patients with biphasic moment patterns was unexpected, but suggests that modern prostheses can result in more normal outcomes. Nonetheless, the peak knee moments of patients were reduced compared to controls. Although these reductions may be beneficial to the survival of the prosthesis, these abnormalities may also indicate suboptimal functional outcome from TKR.