Functional evaluation of normal and pathologic knees during gait.

The functional performance of the knee joints of 29 normal volunteers, 65 patients with degenerative joint disease and 30 patients with rheumatoid arthritis was studied according to clinical (historical, physical and roentgenographic) and biomechanical gait parameters. Temporal and distance gait factors (velocity, cadence and stride length) were significantly reduced in patients with diseased knees. Sagittal plane knee motion was markedly reduced, as was stance phase flexion, indicating poor tolerance of loading the flexed knee in the patient groups. There was no correlation between passive motion of the diseased knee and the amount of motion used during gait. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis generally showed more compromise of knee joint function than did patients with degenerative joint disease. Statistically, significant correlations between various clinical and biomechanical gait parameters suggest that the techniques used are an objective measurement of knee joint function and may be employed as a means of evaluating various treatment modalities for the diseased knee.