Tibiofemoral joint reaction force during the stance phase of backward- and forward-walking at variable speeds.

Abstract

Background: The knee is the joint that often suffers from sport injury. Adequate post-injury rehabilitation helps the patients come back to the game earlier, and prevents re-injury. As part of the program, backward-walking is sometimes used, but information available for the knee-joint reaction force is limited. Objective: Determine tibiofemoral joint reaction force (TFJRF) during the stance phase of backward- and forwardwalking at variable speeds. Methods: Fifty-four healthy Thai males (age 20 to 39 year old, body mass index Results: Backward-walking produced higher peak TFJRF during the stance phase than that of forward-walking in every speed. The subjects had higher HR in every speed during backward-walking, but the average TFJRF was lower in all test speeds except 0.8 m/second. Conclusion: Peak TFJRF and HR during backward-walking were higher than those during forward-walking in every speed, but backward-walking showed a trend to lower the averaged TFJRF compared with forwardwalking. In clinical practice, lower speed of backward-walking may be appropriate to prescribe as an exercise for those with tibiofemoral joint problems. Keywords: Backward walking, inverse dynamics, joint reaction force, split-belt treadmill, stance phase