ADDUCTION MOMENT OF THE KNEE COMPARED TO RADIOLOGICAL AND CLINICAL-PARAMETERS IN MODERATE MEDIAL OSTEOARTHROSIS OF THE KNEE

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between clinical symptoms, static radiographic measurements, and of load distr ibution during walking at the knee, in 54 patients with moderate media l osteoarthrosis of the knee. Varus deformity of the knee was assessed from static radiographic measurements as the Hip-Knee-Ankle (HKA) ang le, and range of moments at the knee in the frontal plane were assesse d using a Kistler force plate system. No correlations between clinical symptoms and radiographic parameters or moments at the knee were foun d. The adduction moment in mid stance was more important than the peak adduction moment in differentiating between patients and normal contr ols. The amplitude of the peak adduction moment depended on the sex an d body mass of the patients, while the amplitude of the mid stance add uction moment depended on body mass and the varus deformity of the kne e. There was a weak correlation between the peak adduction moment and the HKA-angle (r = 0.32, P < 0.05) and there was a moderately high cor relation between the adduction moment in mid stance, i.e 50 % of the s tance phase, and the HKA angle (r = 0.46, P < 0.001) even after normal ization of the mid stance moment to body mass. Accordingly, 20 % of th e medio-lateral knee load in mid stance during walking could be explai ned by the varus deformity of the osteoarthrotic knee in our patients.