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. 2022 Aug 23:10:930722.
doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.930722. eCollection 2022.

ACLD patients exhibit additional knee kinematic asymmetries at the speed level of healthy subjects

Lingchuang Kong  1 , Tao Yang  2 , Qing Wang  1   3 , Yongliang Ou  1 , Huayang Huang  1 , Wenhan Huang  2 , Tao Zhang  1 , Yu Zhang  2   4 , Xiaolong Zeng  2   4
Affiliations

ACLD patients exhibit additional knee kinematic asymmetries at the speed level of healthy subjects

Lingchuang Kong et al. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. .

Abstract

Anterior cruciate ligament deficiency (ACLD) patients tend to walk slowly but try to catch up with the speed level of healthy subjects daily. Exploring the effects of the walking speed level of healthy subjects on the ACLD patients' knee kinematics is important to improving non-operative treatments and delaying the progression of posttraumatic knee osteoarthritis. This study aimed to explore whether healthy controls' walking speed level leads to additional knee kinematic asymmetries in patients with ACLD. 27 ACLD patients and 29 healthy controls were recruited for the study. The ACLD patients walked at two levels of walking speed, including self-selected and healthy controls' walking speed levels. A three-dimensional gait analysis system was used to collect their knee kinematic data. ACLD patients exhibited more kinematic asymmetries when walking at healthy controls' walking speed level than at their self-selected speeds. The kinematic asymmetries included increased posterior tibial translation (4.6 mm) and anteroposterior tibial ROM (3.9 mm), abduction angle (1.5°), and distal tibial translation (3.2 mm) asymmetries (p < 0.05). Our findings are meaningful for developing non-operative treatment strategies for patients with ACLD. To get fewer knee kinematic asymmetries, self-selected walking speed could be suggested for patients with ACLD daily rather than the speed levels of healthy subjects.

Keywords: anterior cruciate ligament deficiency; kinematic asymmetries; knee; non-operative treatment; walking speed.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The scene of the experiment flow chart.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Sagittal knee kinematic alterations of healthy controls and ACLD patients during gait. Chart (A,D) show walking knee flexion angle alterations of ACLD patients at ACLD speed and the speed level of healthy controls (normal speed) compared to healthy controls. Chart (B,E) show walking anteroposterior tibial translation alterations of ACLD patients at ACLD speed and the speed level of healthy controls (normal speed) compared to healthy controls. Chart (C) shows the range of motion of flexion angle and anteroposterior tibial translation of ACLD patients compared to healthy controls during walking. # Significant kinematic differences were found in ACLD patients who walked at ACLD speed compared to healthy controls. * Significant kinematic differences were found in ACLD patients who walked at the same speed level as healthy controls (Normal speed) compared to healthy controls.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Coronal knee kinematic alterations of healthy controls and ACLD patients during gait. Chart (A,D) show walking adduction/abduction angle alterations of ACLD patients at ACLD speed and the speed level of healthy controls (normal speed) compared to healthy controls. Chart (B) shows walking medial/lateral tibial translation alterations of ACLD patients at ACLD speed and the speed level of healthy controls (normal speed) compared to healthy controls. Chart (C) shows the range of motion of adduction/abduction angle and medial/lateral tibial translation of ACLD patients compared to healthy controls during walking. # Significant kinematic differences were found in ACLD patients who walked at ACLD speed compared to healthy controls. * Significant kinematic differences were found in ACLD patients who walked at the same speed level as healthy controls (Normal speed) compared to healthy controls.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Transverse knee kinematic alterations of healthy controls and ACLD patients during gait. Chart (A,D) show walking internal/external tibial rotation angle alterations of ACLD patients at ACLD speed and the speed level of healthy controls (normal speed) compared to healthy controls. Chart (B,E) show walking distal/proximal tibial translation alterations of ACLD patients at ACLD speed and the speed level of healthy controls (normal speed) compared to healthy controls. Chart (C) shows the range of motion of internal/external tibial rotation angle and distal/proximal tibial translation of ACLD patients compared to healthy controls during walking. # Significant kinematic differences were found in ACLD patients who walked at ACLD speed compared to healthy controls. * Significant kinematic differences were found in ACLD patients who walked at the same speed level as healthy controls (Normal speed) compared to healthy controls.
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