Effect of 16-week corrective training program on three dimensional joint moments of the dominant and non-dominant lower limbs during gait in children with genu varus deformity

Abstract

Summary Context Proper treatment of lower limbs alignment in children may prevent the progression of pathologies. However, this is not evaluated from a scientific view-point. Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a 16-week Corrective Exercise Continuum (CEC) programming strategy on three dimensional joint moments of dominant and non-dominant lower limbs during walking. Design Randomized control trials. Setting Sports biomechanics laboratory. Participants Twenty eight male children with genu varus and with permission of their parents were volunteered to participate in this study. They were randomly divided in two equal-sized groups (experimental and control). Intervention Corrective Exercise Continuum (CEC) programming strategy. Main Outcome Measures Data acquisition was carried out using six infrared motion analysis cameras (Vicon motion Systems, Oxford, UK) and two force platforms (Kistler AG, Winterthur, Switzerland). The joint moments of the ankle, knee, and hip of the both lower extremities were calculated using inverse dynamics approach. Results The results indicated that CEC decreased the peak knee internal rotation moment (P Conclusions Performing CEC could reduce excessive knee internal rotation moment as well as hip external rotation moment identified as two key risk factors for medial knee osteoarthritis. Therefore, it would be recommended for children with genu varus, in that it can prevent and slow joint degeneration in adulthood.