PTRCTGait & posture2019

The contralateral knee may not be a valid control for biomechanical outcomes after unilateral total knee arthroplasty.

Moiyad Aljehani, Kathleen Madara, Lynn Snyder-Mackler and 2 others

PMID 30878729

WHAT IT FOUND

After unilateral knee replacement, the non-operated knee with arthritis moved less than the non-operated knee without arthritis, despite similar pain.

Not all measures differed, but it should not be assumed to be a normal control.

Key findings

0166% of analysed participants had radiographic arthritis in the non-operated knee, and pain did not differ between that group and the group without arthritis.

02In the non-operated knee, the arthritis group had 4.5 more degrees of flexion at initial contact, 3 fewer degrees of flexion excursion, 3.8 fewer degrees of extension excursion, and 5.5 fewer degrees of peak extension than the no-arthritis group.

03The no-arthritis group had significant differences between operated and non-operated knees, while the arthritis group had no significant differences between limbs.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs

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What it does not show

The study measured gait only after surgery, with no pre-operative motion data, so it cannot show that arthritis in the other knee caused the movement differences. Only 53 people were analysed, and the authors state they may not have had enough power to detect all true differences. People with substantial health comorbidities were excluded, so the findings may not apply to all patients after TKA. The study did not assess strength, proprioception, or instability, so other factors could explain reduced knee motion. The paper did not show how large a difference in knee excursion is clinically important. Pain was measured with a single question, and the groups were defined by X-ray grade rather than MRI or joint space width.

Declared interests

The supplied text lists NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support. It does not state commercial funding or author conflicts.

The easy way to misread this

Do not conclude that symmetrical walking means both knees have recovered. In this study, the group with arthritis in the non-operated knee had symmetrical but abnormal knee motion, while the group without arthritis had asymmetry because only the operated knee was abnormal.

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