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. 2024 Jun 11;11(3):e12040.
doi: 10.1002/jeo2.12040. eCollection 2024 Jul.

Association between three-dimensional gait kinematics and joint-line inclination in osteoarthritic knees compared with normal knees: An epidemiological study

Fangzhou Chi  1   2 , Tomoharu Mochizuki  1 , Hiroshi Koga  3 , Go Omori  4 , Katsutoshi Nishino  5 , Shigeru Takagi  1 , Yoshio Koga  6 , Hiroyuki Kawashima  1
Affiliations

Association between three-dimensional gait kinematics and joint-line inclination in osteoarthritic knees compared with normal knees: An epidemiological study

Fangzhou Chi et al. J Exp Orthop. .

Abstract

Purpose: No report has proven how tibial and femoral joint-line inclinations affect thigh and shank motion, respectively, according to Kellgren-Lawrence grade in motion analysis with a sufficient sample size. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the motion of the thigh and shank individually from the ground and the relative motion between bones in a large-sample motion analysis to determine the differences between normal and osteoarthritic knees and examine the effects of tibial and femoral joint-line inclination on motion according to osteoarthritis (OA) grade.

Methods: Of 459 participants with healthy knees and varus knee OA undergoing three-dimensional gait analysis, 383 (218 females and 165 males) with an average age of 68 ± 13 years were selected. Gait analysis was performed using a motion-capture system. The six degrees of freedom motion parameters of the knee in the Grood and world coordinate systems and the joint-line inclination in the standing radiographs were measured.

Results: Osteoarthritic knees demonstrated a relative motion different from that of normal knees, with responsibility for the thigh in the sagittal and rotational planes and the thigh and shank in the coronal plane. The involvement of joint-line inclination in motion was mainly on the tibial side, and the effect was minimal in normal knees.

Conclusions: The details of the relative motion of both the thigh and shank can be clarified by analysing individual motions to determine the responsible part. The tibial joint-line affected knee motion: however, the effect was minimal in normal knees. This finding implies that if physical ability can be improved, the negative effects of deformity in osteoarthritic knees may be compensated for.

Level of evidence: Level Ⅱ.

Keywords: KL grade; epidemiological study; gait analysis; joint‐line inclination; knee osteoarthritis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Static parameters.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Motion analysis in the epidemiological study.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Kinematic parameters.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Kinematics of flexion–extension in the stance phase based on the Grood coordinate system.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Kinematics of adduction–abduction in the stance phase based on the Grood coordinate system.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Kinematics of internal rotation–external rotation in the stance phase based on the Grood coordinate system.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Femoral sagittal motion in the stance phase based on the world coordinate system.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Tibial sagittal motion in the stance phase based on the world coordinate system.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Femoral coronal motion in the stance phase based on the world coordinate system.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Tibial coronal motion in the stance phase based on the world coordinate system.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Femoral rotational motion in the stance phase based on the world coordinate system.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Tibial rotational motion in the stance phase based on the world coordinate system.
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