Contralateral pelvic drop during gait increases knee adduction moments of asymptomatic individuals.
OBJECTIVE
The current study purpose was to investigate the effects of contralateral pelvic drop gait on the magnitude of the knee adduction moment (KAM) within asymptomatic individuals.


METHODS
15 participants walked on a dual belt instrumented treadmill while segment motions and ground reaction forces were recorded. Participants completed typical gait trials and pelvic drop gait trials. The net external KAM was calculated using inverse dynamics. Peak and impulse were identified. Frontal plane hip abduction/adduction and pelvic drop were determined. Correlations and paired t-tests were used for statistical hypothesis testing (alpha=0.05).


RESULTS
Peak hip adduction angle reached 4° (±6°) during pelvic drop trials compared to 0° (±6°) in the typical gait trials (p<0.05) equating to 4° of pelvic drop. KAM impulse was higher in the pelvic drop trial (0.16Nms/kg±0.04) compared to the typical gait trial (0.13Nms/kg±0.05) (p<0.001). Peak KAM was higher in the pelvic drop trial (0.55Nm/kg±0.15) compared to the typical gait trial (0.40Nm/kg±0.109) (p<0.001). Correlations between change in KAM and change in hip adduction moment and pelvic drop were r>0.80 (p<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Pelvic drop gait increased KAM peak and impulse. Results have implications for understanding relationships between frontal plane hip movement and the knee adduction moment during gait.
School of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Professions, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada. Electronic address: ct972746@dal.ca.
Caitlyn
C
Dunphy
School of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Professions, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada. Electronic address: sr802218@dal.ca.
Sarah
S
Casey
School of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Professions, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada. Electronic address: Adam.Lomond@dal.ca.
Adam
A
Lomond
School of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Professions, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada; School of Health and Human Performance, Faculty of Health Professions, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada; School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada. Electronic address: djr@dal.ca.
Derek
D
Rutherford
D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006621:Hip Joint / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D010388:Pelvis / Q000502:physiology*; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
Gait; Knee adduction moment; Pelvic drop; Trendelenburg gait