The effects of a leg press exercise with tibial internal rotation on plantar pressure distribution during gait and knee rotational range of motion in healthy young females

Abstract

The osteoarthritic (OA) knee demonstrated reduced tibial internal rotation during squat (Saari 2005) and a knee exercise with tibial internal rotation was effective on immediately improving symptoms (Yoshida 2013). A comparison between OA and healthy knees is necessary to determine the mechanism of the reason of the clinical effects. The aim of this study was to determine if a leg press exercise with tibial internal rotation is effective on plantar pressure distribution during gait and knee rotational range of motion in healthy females. Twenty healthy, young females were randomly allocated to internal or external rotation groups, who performed a leg press exercise with either tibial internal or external rotation, respectively, for two weeks. Knee rotational range and plantar pressure distribution during gait were measured. The internal rotation group demonstrated increased internal rotation and total rotation ranges as well as medial shift of the center of plantar pressure during gait. To conclude, the leg press exercise with tibial internal rotation induced a kinematic chain of combined tibial internal rotation and hindfoot pronation during gait. Future studies will include a similar study for patients with knee OA.