Lower-limb force production in individuals after unilateral total knee arthroplasty

Rossi MD, Hasson S. Lower-limb force production in individuals after unilateral total knee arthroplasty. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2004;85:1279-84. Objective To determine and compare lower-limb force production during a single-leg horizontal press in involved and uninvolved limbs in people with unilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and the limb of age- and gender-matched subjects. Design Quasi-experimental, posttest only control group design. Setting Subjects living in the community and were tested at a university facility. Participants Nine people with unilateral TKA and 9 subjects without TKA volunteered. The mean postsurgery time for the TKA group was 15.89±6.62 months. Interventions Not applicable. Main outcome measure Force production in kilograms during a single-leg press. Results Lower-limb force production differed significantly between involved and uninvolved limbs (P=.007) for the unilateral TKA group. Lower-limb force production of the involved limb in persons with unilateral TKA was significantly lower than the limb of the age- and gender-matched controls (P=.0001). Conclusions Lower-limb force production on the involved side was significantly lower than the uninvolved side. When compared with an age-matched control group, subjects with unilateral TKA produced less force during a single-leg horizontal press.