Kinematics of knees with osteoarthritis show reduced lateral femoral roll-back and maintain an adducted position. A systematic review of research using medical imaging

Abstract

Differences in kinematics between osteoarthritic and healthy knees were observed, however, these differences were more subtle than expected. The synthesis and progress of this research could be facilitated by a consensus on reference systems for axes and kinematic reporting.

Knee Medial and Lateral Contact Forces Computed Along Subject-Specific Contact Point Trajectories of Healthy Volunteers and Osteoarthritic Patients

“…This may be due to the fact that the contact point trajectories were measured during weight-bearing quasi-static squat while the contact forces are estimated during gait. Yet, a recent systematic review showed that the contact point trajectories obtained by biplane X-ray images during quasi-static squat matched the contact point trajectories obtained by fluoroscopy, MRI or CT during other activities (gait, step-up, kneeling, lunge) [5]. It is possible, in both healthy volunteers and OA patients, to measure the contact point trajectories during gait using bi-plane fluoroscopy [12], however, to the authors' knowledge, this information has never been introduced in subject-specific musculoskeletal model so far.…”

“…This was reported for subject-specific contact point trajectories of healthy volunteers which remain aligned with the medial and lateral plateau centrelines. In the pathologic case such as osteoarthritis (OA), the contact point trajectories appear to be shifted in the medial direction [4] and to demonstrate a lower excursion in the lateral compartment [5].…”

Shape is only a weak predictor of deep knee flexion kinematics in healthy and osteoarthritic knees

“…Differences between OA and healthy deep flexion kinematics have been supported in the literature. 13 Specifically, maximal flexion is commonly reported to be reduced in OA knees when compared to healthy. 12 In OA the soft tissues of the knee are affected in a number of ways.…”

“…Furthermore, flattening and reduced sphericity of the femoral condyles, have been reported to influence superior-inferior position throughout flexion 2,3,43 . Furthermore, a recent systematic review by Scarvell et al 13 reported OA knees to have reduced AP translations, maintain a more anterior position and have reduced axial rotations.…”

“…People with OA typically have reduced maximal knee flexion and altered kinematic patterns when compared with their healthy counterparts, but these patterns are variable. 12,13 Deep flexion occurs at the limit of motion, and soft-tissue factors are known to influence deep knee flexion kinematics. 14,15 However, the articular shape is still thought to be important in achieving maximal deep flexion.…”