Effect of prolonged walking on concrete on the knees of sheep.

Adult sheep were subjected to prolonged activity on hard surfaces by walking them daily on concrete and housing them on tarmac. Control sheep were walked on compliant wood chip surfaces and pastured. After two and a half years significant changes were seen in both the distal femoral articular cartilage and subchondral trabecular bone of the knee joints of the hard surface walkers. The hexosamine content of the articular cartilage in the hard surface walkers was lower and this decrease was more marked in the weight-bearing than in the non-weight-bearing areas of the knee. The trabecular pattern of the subchondral bone became significantly altered, with a marked change in trabecular structure acting to stiffen the tibio-femoral joint at th expense of the patello-femoral articulation. There was a substantial increase in the contiguity ratio of bone in the tibio-femoral area. The cortical thickness of the subchondral plate was increased in both the tibio-femoral and patello-femoral areas. We concluded that significant changes occur in both cartilage and bone as a result of prolonged walking on hard surfaces.