Postural Stability comparison in various standing positions between healthy young men and those with genu varum

Abstract

Introduction : Genu varum is considered a risk factor for knee osteoarthritis. Being aware of postural swing changes in various standing positions among genu varum patients, provide insight to prevent osteoarthritis in this population. This study is undertaken to compare Postural Stability in various standing positions between young healthy and genu varum male individuals. Materials and Methods: 80 healthy young male university students, 40 normal and 40 subjects with genu varum deformity, participated in this study. Deformity of genu varum was assessed with caliper and Goniometer. Each subject stood in five different positions on force plates to record changes in center of pressure (COP). For data analysis, Matlab and Spss software applied, where Mixed ANOVA test was used to compare dependent variables between two groups in 5 different positions (p≤0.05). Results: Significant differences were observed between the two groups for distance and velocity of COP sway in opened-eye bilateral and opened-eye unilateral standing (p≤0.05); while no significant differences was observed between bilateral standing with closed eye, unilateral standing with opened eye, and unilateral standing with upward head. Conclusion: According to the obtained results, it can be suggested that frontal knee angle may affect postural stability. Perhaps one of the reasons for higher injury risk and knee osteoarthritis in genu varum population is increase of COP swing. It is proposed focusing on corrective exercises can reduce these risks. Key words : Postural swing, various standing positions, healthy male, genu varum