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HAVING A PREVIOUS KNEE INJURY DOES NOT INFLUENCE TEMPORAL-SPATIAL GAIT VARIABLES DURING OVERGROUND WALKING

Abstract

Sydney Ahart, Gary Austin, Taylor Norman, Abigail Schmitt and Kaitlin Gallagher

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR

PURPOSE: Knee injuries can affect activities of daily living and cause pain, limited range of motion, muscle weakness, knee instability, and altered gait patterns. This study evaluated the effects of a previous knee injury on gait characteristics in those 18-40 years of age. The previously injured group was expected to have a lower walking speed and stride length than the uninjured group. METHODS: Twelve participants were collected for this study. A markerless 3-Dimensional motion capture system was used to measure the overground walking of each participant during the middle portion of their walk down a 30 m hallway. The participants completed this walk six times, and the data was compiled to average the temporal-spatial gait variables (Table 1). Participant age, height, mass, and previous knee injury history were also recorded. Participants were split into an injury history group based on the answer of “yes” or “no” to the previous knee injury question. Between-group t-tests were used to assess differences between the injury groups for demographic and gait variables, with significance set at p<.05. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the injury groups for age, height, and mass (p>.35) or the temporal-spatial variables (Table 1). CONCLUSION: Having a previous knee injury did not influence temporal-spatial variables. This is in line with previous research. Future work will look at lower limb joint angles to determine if individuals use different strategies to obtain the same temporal-spatial gait characteristics.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: A University of Arkansas Honors College Research Grant and an Arkansas Department of Higher Education Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship supported this project.

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