University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States of America; University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, United States of America.
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, United States of America.
Clin Biomech (Bristol). 2022 May;95:105656. doi: 10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2022.105656. Epub 2022 Apr 27.
Individuals with chronic ankle instability typically present with abnormal gait patterns favoring the lateral foot. This gait pattern may alter cartilage stress potentially increasing the risk of osteoarthritis development, thus exploring this relationship may provide insights for early interventions. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship gait biomechanics and talar articular cartilage characteristics.
Talar articular cartilage was assessed with ultrasound at rest and after walking for 30-min in twenty-five adults (14 females, 22.6 ± 3.12 years, 168.12 ± 9.83 cm, 76.00 ± 15.47 kg) with chronic ankle instability. Cartilage was segmented into Total, Medial, and Lateral regions. During the 30-min walking period, plantar pressure of the entire foot was recorded every 5-min and condensed to create a biomechanical loading pattern and center of pressure gait line. Relationships between resting cartilage thickness and echo intensity, changes in thickness and echo intensity, and plantar pressure profiles were assessed with correlation coefficients.
There was a significant relationship between plantar pressure in the lateral forefoot and medial talar cartilage deformation (r = 0.408, p < .05). Early stance center of pressure was correlated with deformation in the total (r = 0.439-0.524) and lateral (r = 0.443-0.550) regions (p < .05). There were no significant correlations between echo intensity and biomechanics.
This study contributes to the growing evidence that talar cartilage strain patterns are associated with biomechanics during walking. Further validation is needed to determine a causal relationship between biomechanics and ultrasound cartilage characteristics after ankle sprains. In addition, research should continue determining the utility of ultrasound to monitor joint health after musculoskeletal injuries.
慢性踝关节不稳定的个体通常表现出偏向外侧足的异常步态模式。这种步态模式可能改变软骨的应力，从而增加骨关节炎发展的风险，因此探索这种关系可能为早期干预提供思路。本研究旨在探讨步态生物力学与距骨关节软骨特征之间的关系。
在 25 名慢性踝关节不稳定的成年人（14 名女性，22.6±3.12 岁，168.12±9.83cm，76.00±15.47kg）中，在休息和行走 30 分钟后，使用超声评估距骨关节软骨。软骨被分为总、内侧和外侧区域。在 30 分钟的行走过程中，每 5 分钟记录整个足部的足底压力，并将其浓缩以创建生物力学加载模式和压力中心步态线。使用相关系数评估休息时软骨厚度和回波强度、厚度和回波强度变化与足底压力分布之间的关系。
在外侧前足的足底压力与距骨内侧软骨变形之间存在显著相关性（r=0.408，p<.05）。早期支撑相的压力中心与总（r=0.439-0.524）和外侧（r=0.443-0.550）区域的软骨变形相关（p<.05）。回波强度与生物力学之间没有显著相关性。
本研究为越来越多的证据提供了贡献，即距骨软骨应变模式与行走时的生物力学有关。需要进一步验证，以确定踝关节扭伤后生物力学与超声软骨特征之间的因果关系。此外，应继续研究超声在监测肌肉骨骼损伤后关节健康方面的效用。
