Tibiofemoral Joint Forces in Female Recreational Runners Vary with Step Frequency

Bhushan Thakkar (Lead / Corresponding author), John D. Willson, Kathryn Harrison, Robert Tickes, D. S. Blaise Williams

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose Elevated tibiofemoral joint (TFJ) contact forces have been linked to the development and progression of knee osteoarthritis. The primary objective of this study was to determine the association between peak TFJ shear and compression forces during running at different self-selected step frequencies (SF) in female recreational runners. Methods Fifty-five healthy female recreational runners ran at 2.98 m·s-1 on an instrumented treadmill. Peak TFJ anterior shear force, peak axial TFJ compression force, and peak medial compartment TFJ compression force were estimated using a musculoskeletal model with inputs from 3D joint kinematics and inverse dynamics calculations. Three SF groups were generated using tertiles, and differences between the groups were compared using one-way ANOVA (α = 0.05). Results Runners with an SF of ≥178 steps per minute demonstrated the lowest peak TFJ anterior shear force (P = 0.04), peak axial TFJ compression force (P = 0.01), and peak TFJ medial compartment compression forces (P = 0.01) compared with runners using lower SF. Conclusion Female recreational runners with low SF of ≤166 steps per minute experience greater TFJ contact forces. This study provides evidence of an association between SF and both shear and axial peak TFJ contact forces during running.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1444-1450
Number of pages7
JournalMedicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
Volume51
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2019

Keywords

  • BIOMECHANICS
  • GAIT
  • KINETICS
  • OSTEOARTHRITIS
  • RUNNING

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
  • Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation

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