Quadriceps angle and rearfoot motion: relationships in walking.

The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between quadriceps angle (q-angle) and rearfoot motion in walking. Twenty women were videotaped with two cameras, one located behind the subject and one located in front providing both front and rear views of the frontal plane. Each subject was required to walk at a 1.5 mph pace on a treadmill while five consecutive right footfalls were videotaped. After walking, each subject was videotaped in a calibrated stance and a chosen stance. Leg length and hip width were measured. Arch index was measured to determine arch type of the subject. All subjects were required to walk barefoot during testing. All trials were digitized and analyzed using the Peak Performance Motion Measurement System. Q-angles and rearfoot angles were calculated and averaged over the five trials. The following group means were obtained: maximum pronation (MPRO) was -7.88 degrees, total rearfoot motion (TRFM) was 8.20 degrees, static rearfoot angle in a chosen stance (SRFCHOS) was -3.45 degrees, static rearfoot angle in a calibrated stance (SRFCAL) was -2.40 degrees, dynamic q-angle at heel strike (DQHS) was 16.13 degrees, dynamic q-angle at midstance (DQMS) was 16.00 degrees, static q-angle in a chosen stance (SQCHOS) was 18.32 degrees, static q-angle in a calibrated stance (SQCAL) was 17.42 degrees, hip width (HWIDTH) was 25.66cm, leg length (LLENGTH) was 85.76cm and arch index was 0.23cm2. Pearson product moment correlations were calculated between each of the variables. All of the q-angle variables, both static and dynamic, correlated poorly with rearfoot motion variables.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)