Medial knee contact force and dysfunction in the elderly

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The tissue destruction around knee joint is considered to involve medial knee contact force overload. However, no report has examined the relationship between the medial knee contact force and dysfunction. In this study, we investigated the medial knee contact force during gait in elderly subjects using musculoskeletal model-based simulation analysis and revealed its connection with pain and dysfunction. METHODS: We separated 122 elderly participants into 2 groups, the pain group and non-pain group, according to the existence of knee pain. Medial knee contact force was calculated based on the previously published inverse dynamics solution for normal walking. The muscle and joint reaction forces were used to determine the medial knee contact force during the stance phase. Japanese knee osteoarthritis measurement was used to assess the severity of symptoms for knee pain subjects. RESULTS: The medial knee contact force was significantly correlated with total Japanese knee osteoarthritis measurement scores and subscale dysfunction scores for pain subjects, although there was no difference in the medial knee contact force between the 2 groups. CONCLUSION: An increased medial knee contact force during gait might relate to dysfunction among elderly individuals with knee pain.