Knee Joint Loading in Healthy Adults During Functional Exercises: Implications for Rehabilitation Guidelines

Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Background The inclusion of specific exercises in rehabilitation after knee injury is currently expert based, as a thorough description of the knee contact forces during different exercises is lacking. Objective To quantify knee loading during frequently used activities such as squats, lunges, single-leg hops, walking stairs, standing up, and gait, and to grade knee joint loading during these activities. Methods Three-dimensional motion-analysis data of 15 healthy adults were acquired during 9 standardized activities used in rehabilitation. Experimental motion data were processed using musculoskeletal modeling to calculate contact and shear forces on the different knee compartments (tibiofemoral and patellofemoral). Using repeated-measures analyses of variance, contact and shear forces were compared between compartments and exercises, whereas muscle and average maximum femoral forces were compared only between exercises. Results With the exception of squats, all therapeutic exercises imposed higher forces to the tibiofemoral joint compared to gait. Likewise, patellofemoral forces were greater during all exercises when compared to gait. Greater compartmental contact forces were accompanied by greater compartmental shear forces. Furthermore, force distribution over the medial and lateral compartments varied between exercises. With increased knee flexion, more force was imposed on the posterior portion of the condyles. Conclusion These results suggest that with careful selection of exercises, forces on an injured zone of the joint can be reduced, as the force distribution differs strongly between exercises. Based on the results, a graded exercise program for progressive knee joint loading during rehabilitation can be conceptualized. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2018;48(3):162-173. Epub 6 Jan 2018. doi:10.2519/jospt.2018.7459.