[Movement transfer between foot and calf in vitro].

The mechanical coupling of leg and foot which may be related to the aetiology of knee injuries is still not well understood. The goal of this study was to determine in vitro the movement transfer from calcaneal eversion-inversion to tibial rotation and vice versa occurring in the ankle joint complex. A lower leg holding and loading device with 6 degrees of freedom was used for investigation of 14 fresh-frozen, foot-leg specimens. Movement transfer between calcaneus and tibia was not the same for different input modes and different from calcaneus to tibia compared to movement transfer from tibia to calcaneus. Vertical loading of the tibia and foot flexion position had a major influence on this transfer of movement. The results implicate that excessive pronation, in running for instance, is only critical for high knee loading when coupled with a high movement transfer in the ankle joint complex.