Quantitative gait analysis after medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty for osteoarthritis.

This study characterized the footstep pattern and knee kinematics during walking in 12 patients who had undergone unicompartmental knee arthroplasty for unilateral medial compartment osteoarthritis. Patients had all achieved a successful recovery and were tested at least 1 year after surgery. Gait analysis was conducted during self-selected comfortable and fast walking conditions using a 3-dimensional motion analysis system and electronic walkway. Results showed that patients were able to increase their walking speed by 28% by increasing both stride length and cadence. All but one patient showed a biphasic pattern of flexion-extension motion about the treated knee. In 8 of 12 patients, significant increases in knee flexion were seen in the treated limb compared with the contralateral limb, the cause and ramifications of which are yet to be determined.