KNEE JOINT LOADING IN GRADED WALKING AS A FUNCTION OF STEP LENGTH AND STEP FREQUENCY

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the knee joint loading during uphill and downhill walking as a function of step length and step frequency. Twelve subjects were filmed and their ground reaction forces measured during uphill and downhill walking on a ramp at 18" to the horizontal at step lengths of 46, 58 and 69 cm and step frequencies of 1.33, 1.67 and 2.00 Hz, respectively. 20 inverse dynamics were used to calculate knee joint forces, moments and power. In general, knee joint loading increases with both longer steps and higher step frequencies. Most of the differences are statistically significant. The results show that step length and step frequency affects knee joint loading significantly and substantially. Thus knee joint loading can be controlled by regulating these two parameters. This is important when trying to optimise the stimulation of knee joint structures.