Can joint contact force serve as a standard for evaluating the soft-tissue balance of the knee?

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K18000
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 56020:Orthopedics-related
• Research Institution: The University of Tokushima
• Principal Investigator: WADA Keizo 徳島大学, 病院, 特任准教授 (00771289)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 膝関節 / 動態解析 / 人工膝関節置換術 / ナビゲーション

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Firstly, the median angles of rotation when manually maximally internally and externally rotated in the extended position, 30 degrees, 60 degrees, and 90 degrees of flexion are significantly correlated with the tibial rotational kinematics. The median angle of the varus/valgus alignment also correlated with the varus/valgus kinematics. It was suggested that knee kinematics is strongly related to the soft-tissue balance. Next, for evaluating soft-tissue balance using manual stress, it was revealed that the reproducibility was high in the medial evaluation, but low in the lateral evaluation. Finally, the method with sufficient reproducibility could not be established for evaluating joint contact force using a force sensor sheet. As future improvement measures, we concluded that it is necessary to reconsider the method of fixing the force sensor to the knee joint and the strength of the sensor sheet.

Free Research Field

整形外科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究結果から関節動態は軟部組織バランスと強く関連していることが改めて示され、軟部組織バランスを徒手的なストレスで評価を行う際には、内側の評価は再現性が高いものの、外側の評価において再現性が低い事を念頭に置く必要があることが明らかとなった。圧センサーシートを用いた関節摺動面圧の測定は徒手的な軟部組織評価の再現性を高める可能性が期待されたが、膝関節伸展位での測定は可能であったものの、十分な再現性が得られなかった。しかし、本研究結果より膝関節に圧センサーを固定する方法とセンサーシートの強度について再考が課題であることが明確となり、今後の研究における重要な基礎データとなった。