Abstract
We assessed whether cane length and cane load affected medial and lateral force on the knee joint. Knee joint forces during walking were calculated from floor reaction forces and lower extremity alignment in 12 patients with medial-type osteoarthritis of the knee. Comparisons with walking without a cane showed that knee joint medial force decreased as the cane load increased. When the force on the cane was increased from 10xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx to 30xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx of body weight, medial force decreased from 90xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx to 65xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx of the force when walking without a cane. This reduction was unaffected by the length of the cane. No changes in lateral force were observed as a result of using a cane, nor was there any change in the rate of reduction of knee joint force by the cane when the femorotibial angle (FTA) was changed. It is important to take cane force into consideration when prescribing canes to protect the knee joint.
