Relationships Between Age at Menarche, Walking Gait Base of Support, and Stance Phase Frontal Plane Knee Biomechanics in Adolescent Girls.
Andrew W Froehle, Kimberly A Grannis, Richard J Sherwood and 1 others
PMID 27485675WHAT IT FOUND
Earlier first period was linked to a wider walking stance and inward knee bending during walking in 46 healthy adolescent girls.
This may help therapists spot higher knee-injury risk, but the study did not test injuries.
Key findings
01Earlier age at menarche was significantly correlated with a wider walking stance relative to pelvic breadth.
02Age at menarche and walking stance width relative to pelvic breadth were significantly correlated with knee angle and moment at foot-strike during walking.
03Peak inward knee moment during stance was not significantly correlated with age at menarche or walking stance width relative to pelvic breadth.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The analysis was cross-sectional and used one walking visit per girl, so it cannot show that earlier menarche caused the knee biomechanics. It studied healthy, uninjured girls, so it gives no direct evidence about girls who already have knee pain or injury. The sample was small, with 46 girls analysed, and many potentially relevant girls were excluded, including those with obesity, recent injury, past knee injury, or abnormal gait. The outcomes were walking biomechanics, not the higher-impact running, jumping, or landing loads that usually cause knee injuries. Age at menarche was self-reported, usually within six months, but still not a medical record. Participants were mainly of European ancestry from southwest Ohio, so results may not apply to other populations. Some knee moments, especially peak knee abduction moment, were not significantly related to menarche or base of support. The injured cases mentioned were only six excluded participants, so they cannot be used as evidence of injury risk.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that early menarche causes knee injury or that walking stance screening works. It found associations with walking knee biomechanics in 46 healthy girls, not with injuries or sport loads.