The influence exerted on cartilage and bone volumes by locomotor patterns is poorly understood, particularly at the patellofemoral joint. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between sagittal plane movement at the tibiofemoral joint and patella cartilage and bone volumes during the locomotion of healthy adult females.
Three-dimensional Vicon gait analyses and magnetic resonance imaging were performed on 20 healthy adult women. The relationships between the degree of tibiofemoral flexion and extension at varying stages of the gait cycle and the concomitant medial, lateral and total patella cartilage and total bone volumes were examined.
For every degree the knee flexed during mid-stance, there was a 62.8 microL (95% confidence interval 3.7-122.0) increase in the medial patella facet cartilage volume after adjustment for age and the body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.04). A similar relationship that approached significance was observed for the lateral patella facet cartilage volume after adjustment for age and the BMI (P = 0.08). No association was observed between the sagittal plane tibiofemoral movements and the patella bone volume.
The association between patella cartilage volume and tibiofemoral knee movement suggests that for every degree increase in knee flexion during mid-stance, there is an associated increase in patella cartilage volume. This may be the result of the geometry of the femoral condyle influencing patella tracking and or the retropatellar load exerted on the patella during walking. These results may have important implications for people who hyperextend their knee during gait and the pathogenesis of patellofemoral osteoarthritis.