The Influence of the Q-Angle and Muscle Strength on Idiopathic Anterior Knee Pain in Adolescents

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Idiopathic anterior knee pain is a common condition in adolescents and is mostly of unknown cause. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of the Q-angle and muscle strength on idiopathic anterior knee pain. Materials and Methods: Seventy-one adolescents (41 females and 30 males) diagnosed with anterior knee pain were included in this prospective study. The extensor strength in the knee joint and the Q-angle were monitored. The healthy extremity was used as a control. The Student’s paired sample t-test was applied for testing the difference. Statistical significance was set at 0.05. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the Q-angle value between the idiopathic AKP and the healthy extremity (p > 0.05) within the entire sample. A statistically significant higher Q-angle of the idiopathic AKP knee (p < 0.05) was obtained in the female subgroup. No statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) was found in the male subgroup. Within the male subgroup, the strength of the extensors within the knee joint of the healthy extremity had statistically significant higher values than the strength of these muscles in the affected extremity (p < 0.05). Conclusion: A greater Q-angle is a risk factor linked to anterior knee pain within the female population. Decreased muscle strength of knee joint extensors is a risk factor linked to anterior knee pain in both sex subgroups.

Morphology and transverse alignment of the patella have no effect on knee gait characteristics in healthy Chinese adults over the age of 40 years

“…Alignment and bony morphology were measured using established methods from prior studies ( Chhabra et al, 2011 ; Stefanik et al, 2013 ). In the anteroposterior view, we assessed several angles ( Dai et al, 2019 ; Kokubu et al, 2022 ; Hao et al, 2023 ; Milovanović et al, 2023 ), including the quadriceps angle (Q-angle), FTA, the proximal tibia varus angle (PTVA), and the distal femoral valgus angle (DFVA) ( Figures 1A–D ). The Q-angle represents the angle between two lines: the first drawn from the anterior-superior iliac spine to the mid-patella, and the second drawn from the mid-patella to the tibial tubercle.…”