Graduation Term

2014

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

School of Kinesiology and Recreation

Committee Chair

Michael R. Torry

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Knee supports are often employed to decrease adductor angle and/or adductor moment and thus medial knee joint loading in persons with medial knee osteoarthritis. It is compelling that these gait alterations would also be considered beneficial in healthy individuals from a prophylactic application. While the Opedix product was designed specifically as a knee support system, in the present study lower extremity kinematic chain with emphasis on hip and knee were investigated.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to test Opedix garments and describe the changes in sagittal (X), frontal (Y), and transverse (Z) planes for both kinematic and kinetic data at the ankle, knee, and hip during walking and jogging.

METHODS: Fifteen healthy subjects between the ages of 18-28 (20 ± 1.3) performed ten walking and ten jogging trials with (W) and without (WO) the knee support garment system. Subjects walked at a self-selected pace, which was then controlled by step length demarcations along the collection runway and was kept constant for all trials. Ankle, knee, and hip angles, joint reaction forces, joint reaction force integrals, and joint

moment were all calculated in the sagittal (X), frontal (Y), and transverse (Z) planes of motion. Forces were displayed in 2 fashions, peak forces and force integrals - making this a novel study. Changes in these dependent variables were assessed while wearing and without wearing the garment in walking and jogging, independently utilizing paired t-tests.

RESULTS: While walking the following decrease occurred from without the garment to with the garment: Hip Angle-Z decreased 31.6%, Hip Force-X decreased 19.3%, Hip Force-Y decreased 34.4%, Hip-X moment decreased 13.7%, and Hip-Y moment decreased 15.4%. While jogging, the following decrease occurred from without the garment to with the garment: Hip Angle-X decreased 6.5%, Hip Angle-Y decreased 15.7%, Hip Angle-Z decreased 42.3%, Hip Force-X decreased 27.6%, Hip Force-Z decreased 3.6%, and Hip Moment-X was decreased 28.3%.

CONCLUSIONS: The garment had some kinematic and kinetic effect on joints tested, but consistencies did not exist at each plane. Based on the interpretation of joint reaction forces at the hip, this product can be used to slow the progression of OA.

Access Type

Thesis-Open Access

DOI

http://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2014.Mathew.P

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Biomechanics Commons

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