title: The effect of sustained static kneeling on kinetic and kinematic knee joint gait parameters.
abstract: Despite epidemiological evidence for kneeling as an occupational risk factor for knee osteoarthritis, biomechanical evidence is lacking. Gait knee joint mechanics, a common measure used to study knee osteoarthritis initiation, were used in the present study to investigate the effect of sustained static kneeling on the knee. Ten healthy male subjects (24.1 years ± 3.5) performed ten baseline walking trials, followed by a 30-min kneeling protocol and a second set of walking trials. Knee joint moments and angles were calculated during the stance phase. Within-subject root mean squared differences were compared within and between the pre- and post-kneeling gait trials. Differences were observed between the pre-kneeling and post-kneeling walking trails for flexion and adduction knee moments (0.12 Nm/kg ± 0.03, 0.07 Nm/kg ± 0.02) and angles (3.18° ± 1.22 and 1.64° ± 1.15), indicating that sustained static deep-knee flexion kneeling does acutely alter knee joint gait parameters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4K1. Electronic address: kajakst@mcmaster.ca.
authors.forename: Tara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kajaks
authors.affiliation: School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen's University, 28 Division Street, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6. Electronic address: pat.costigan@queensu.ca.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Costigan
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009790:Occupations; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000503:physiopathology; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D011312:Pressure; D012307:Risk Factors; D016474:Weight-Bearing / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Gait; Knee osteoarthritis; Kneeling