Does knee malalignment mediate the effects of quadriceps strengthening on knee adduction moment, pain, and function in medial knee osteoarthritis? A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objective. To examine whether the effects of 12 weeks of quadriceps strengthening on the knee adduction moment, pain, and function in people with medial knee osteoarthritis (OA) differ in those with and without varus malalignment. Methods. A single-blind, randomized controlled trial of 107 community volunteers with medial knee OA was conducted. Participants were stratified according to knee malalignment (more varus or more neutral) and then randomized into either a 12-week supervised home-based quadriceps strengthening group or a control group with no intervention. The primary outcome was the knee adduction moment, measured using 3-dimensional gait analysis. Secondary outcomes included the W..