Introduction: Studies have shown a strong relationship between knee osteoarthritis (OA) and the adduction moment at the knee during gait. Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is known to improve range of motion and function in patients with severe OA. Examinations of tibial bearing wear suggest that although the static alignment of the joint is restored, the abnormal dynamic loading conditions may still remain. The aim of this study was to compare the pre-op and post-op knee biomechanics during gait in patients undergoing TKA.
Methods: Gait analysis was performed on 15 patients with 17 TKA’s (8 women and 7 men, all with pre-op varus knee alignment) prior to, 6 months and 1 year following TKA. Reflective markers were placed on the lower extremity of each patient and motion data were collected at 60 Hz using six infrared cameras (Qtrac, Qualysis). Ground reaction forces were recorded at 960 Hz with a multicomponent force plate (Kistler). The frontal plane knee moment (adduction/abduction) was calculated for each trial using inverse dynamics. Based on the anterior/posterior ground reaction force, the stance phase of each trial was divided into a braking phase and a propulsive phase. The area under the knee adduction moment curve (knee adduction impulse) was calculated for each phase. A repeated-measures (Time x Phase) ANOVA was used to compare changes in the peak knee adduction moment and knee adduction impulse for each phase over time. P-values less than 0.05 were considered significant.
Results: Mean knee alignment was 4.75 degrees varus pre-op and 4.25 degrees valgus post-op (P <
0.001). A significant time-by-phase interaction was found for peak adduction moment (P = 0.002) and a nearly significant time-by-phase interaction was found for adduction impulse (P = 0.056). In braking phase, six months after surgery, knee adduction impulse and peak moment decreased 26% and 15% respectively. At one year, however, both increased by 20% and 19% respectively to near pre-op levels. In propulsive phase, knee adduction impulse and moment decreased 34% and 25% respectively at 6 months but only increased by 4% and 11% respectively at one year follow-up. Knee Society and Function scores improved from 50.17 and 61.67 pre-op to 82.08 and 82.50 at 6 months and 88.83 and 85.83 at 1 year post-op (P <
0.001, respectively).
Discussion: After TKA, in the breaking phase of gait, the initial improvement in knee adduction impulse and peak knee adduction moment noted at 6 months disappeared completely indicating no improvement in medial compartment loading conditions at 1 year post operatively. The improvement in these parameters during the propulsive phase remained persistent at 1 year although there was some tendency to revert back to pre-operative levels. This would suggest that restoration of anatomic axial alignment and soft tissue balance do not change the medial loading conditions following TKA.
