Clinically assessed mediolateral knee motion: impact on gait

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Kinesiology
• Orthopedics

Background:

• Mediolateral knee movement, specifically a knee-medial-to-foot position, is linked to increased knee injury risk.
• The impact of this position on daily activities like gait is not fully understood.
• Clinical tests often assess knee alignment visually.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if a knee-medial-to-foot position during a clinical test is associated with altered hip and knee kinematics and kinetics during gait.
• To compare gait biomechanics between individuals with knee-medial-to-foot and knee-over-foot positions.

Main Methods:

• Participants were visually assessed during a single-limb mini squat and classified as knee-medial-to-foot or knee-over-foot.
• Three-dimensional hip and knee kinematics and kinetics were compared during normal gait.
• Peak knee valgus angle and peak internal hip rotation were key outcome measures.

Main Results:

• No significant differences were found in peak knee valgus angle between the knee-medial-to-foot and knee-over-foot groups.
• Peak internal hip rotation during gait also showed no significant difference between the two groups.
• Knee joint kinetics did not differ between the classifications.

Conclusions:

• A knee-medial-to-foot position observed in a mini squat test does not translate to altered gait kinematics or kinetics in healthy individuals.
• Individuals with a knee-medial-to-foot alignment did not exhibit increased knee joint loading during gait compared to those with a knee-over-foot alignment.
• Caution is advised when extrapolating findings from one movement task to another, especially in clinical assessments.