Gait affects tibial component fixation

The prognosis of fixation in patients with total knee arthroplasty was clas sified as either good or poor based on migration results over 4 to 8 years using roentgen stereophotogrammetry. Gait analysis with the Vicon system wa s performed in 27 asymptomatic patients (1 bilateral), selected according t o gender, implant design, age, and fixation principle to form two equivalen t groups with different prognoses. The poor prognosis group walked with a p redominantly flexing moment and higher moment peaks in the sagittal plane c ompared with the good prognosis group, in which moments were abnormally sma ll. We conclude that individual gait patterns and subsequent differences in joint loading affect tibial component fixation.