Pedobarographic evaluation of patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty

Introduction: Succes of total knee arthroplasty depends on accurate positioning of thecomponents, balance of soft tissues and correction of the lower extremity alignment. Studieson the kinetic and kinematic analyses after knee arthroplasty are common in the literature,however there are limited number of studies about pedobarographic analysis.Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate differences in the walking biomechanicsand alignment of components before and after knee arthroplasty by using pedobarographicanalysis.Material and method: Fourtyseven knees (7 left side, 10 right side and 15 bilateral) ofthirtytwo patients (29 famales, 3 males; mean age: 68.9 years) were evaluated withradiographic and pedobarographic analysis before and after total knee arthroplasty due toprimary knee osteoarthritis.Results: In all applications; placement of femoral component in the frontal and sagittal planesand placement of tibial component in the sagittal plane were within the ideal limits. Howevertibial components showed different positions (varus, neutral and valgus) in the frontal plane.According to the analysis of pedobarographic values in all applications; pressure, force,contact area, force - time and pressure - time integral values decreased postoperatively,especially in the forefoot and midfoot.There were also some differences in the hindfootbetween the groups which were formed according to tibial component position. Varuspositioning of the tibial component caused pathological loading on the forefoot and midfoot,which was not seen in the neutral and valgus tibial components.Conclusions: Pedobarographic evaluation provides objective examination of patients aftertotal knee arthroplasty. Pedobarographic parameters show differences after total kneearthroplasty compared to preoperative values. Varus position of the tibial component causespathological loading on the sole of the foot.