Cultural and urban city living expectations of knee motion in a Southeast Asian city: implications on total knee arthroplasty outcomes.
Yong Yao Tan, Ke Xin Magneline Ang, Ching Yi Aliza Wong and 2 others
PMID 39844901WHAT IT FOUND
Healthy Singapore adults needed 55.7° for walking, 68.2° ascending stairs and 70.9° descending stairs, but 127°, 131°, 130° and 133° for squatting or kneeling.
Squatting and kneeling need much more knee flexion than walking or stairs.
Key findings
01In 50 participants, measured knee flexion averaged 55.7° for walking on flat ground, 68.2° for ascending stairs and 70.9° for descending stairs.
02Squatting required 127° with heels planted and 131° with heels raised; kneeling required 133° with ankles dorsiflexed and 130° with ankles plantarflexed; sitting cross-legged required 106°.
03Leg length was associated with knee flexion needed for walking, descending stairs, squatting and kneeling; calf circumference was associated with squatting and kneeling.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study measured 50 healthy volunteers, not patients after knee replacement, so it does not show what TKA patients can achieve. Participants were recruited from hospital staff and were young, with mean age 28.5 years, so the values may not represent older patients or the broader Southeast Asian population. Only the right knee was measured with a wearable device, and the authors note the device was simpler than systems used in some other studies. The authors acknowledge undeclared pre-existing lower limb or spine pathology could have been present. Stair dimensions were fixed at 13 steps of 15 cm height, which reflects one Singapore standard and may not match all homes or public spaces.
Declared interests
The authors reported financial support from the Changi General Hospital (Singapore) Innovation Grant for the research, authorship and/or publication.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these values as expected knee motion after total knee replacement. They were measured in healthy volunteers, not TKA patients, and the study did not test post-operative outcomes.