title: Knee moments in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
abstract: The gait of 7 boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) who could walk unaided and 21 normal boys was analysed by means of a video recording technique linked to a Kistler force plate. An electronic device was used to superimpose the patient's ground reaction vector on the video recording of their walking. This recording was analysed to obtain sequential values for the moments developed around the knee during the walking cycle. The equinus gait of boys with DMD is shown to be a necessary adaptation to keep the forces about proximal joints, particularly the knee, within limits controllable by weakened muscles. These findings explain the observation that elongation of the Achilles tendon to correct contracture at the ankle can have irrevocably damaging effects on gait.
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000293:Adolescent; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D009136:Muscular Dystrophies / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014741:Video Recording