A COMPARISON OF THE BILATERAL, DYNAMIC Q-ANGLE IN FEMALES

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the Q-angle during the stance phase of walking and jogging. Twenty-one females were recruited to participate in the study. Subjects were filmed walking and jogging on the treadmill and the bilateral, Q-angle measurements were calculated for heel-strike (HS), mid-stance (MS), and toe-off (TO) at each speed. Significant differences (p < 0.05) in the Q-angle were found between HS and TO and between MS and TO for both legs during walking. There were no significant differences found during jogging for the left leg; however, there were significant differences in the right leg from MS to TO. A comparison of the Q-angle values showed that HS, MS, and TO were significantly different between the right and left legs for walking, and only MS and TO were significantly different for jogging.