Walking on a compliant surface does not enhance ki

Authors: Joakim Bjerke Fredrik Öhberg Kjell G Nilsson AnnKatrin Stensdotter

Publish Date: 2015/12/26

Volume: 24, Issue: 8, Pages: 2606-2613

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Abstract

Individuals with unilateral TKA ~19 months postoperative n = 23 median age 59 years recruited from one orthopaedic clinic and age and gendermatched healthy individuals without knee complaints n = 23 median age 56 years walked at comfortable speed on a hard surface and on a compliant surface 3D kinematic analyses were made for knee and hip angles in sagittal and frontal planes stance time step length and gait velocityShorter stance time p  001 and less peak knee flexion p  0001 at weight bearing acceptance was found in the prosthetic side compared with the contralateral side Larger knee p  001 and hip p  0001 adduction was found compared with healthy controls Neither asymmetries between the prosthetic and the contralateral side nor differences compared with healthy controls were enhanced when walking on compliant surfaces compared with hard surfacesThe TKA group adapted their gait to compliant surfaces similarly to healthy controls Gait asymmetries in the TKA group observed on hard surface were not enhanced and adduction in hip and knee joints did not increase further as an effect of walking on compliant surfaces Thus unfavourable knee joint loading did not increase when walking on a compliant surface This implies that recommendations for walking on soft surfaces to reduce knee joint loading are not counteracted by increased gait asymmetries and unfavourable joint loading configurationsThe study was internally funded by SørTrøndelag University College The sponsor has had no involvement in the conduct of the study The study was performed in the movement laboratory at SørTrøndelag University College N7004 Trondheim Norway From 01012016 SørTrøndelag University College is merged with Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU

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