Influence of knee alignment on quadriceps cross-sectional area

Sogabe, Akitoshi; Mukai, Naoki; Miyakawa, Shunpei; Mesaki, Noboru; Maeda, Kazuaki; Yamamoto, Tadashi; Gallagher, Philip M.; Schrager, Matt; Fry, Andrew C.

doi:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2009.06.022

« Previous Next »Journal of Biomechanics
Volume 42, Issue 14 , Pages 2313-2317, 16 October 2009

Influence of knee alignment on quadriceps cross-sectional area

Akitoshi Sogabe
- Education and Research Center for Sport and Health Science, Konan University, Kobe, Japan
- Human Performance Laboratory, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
- Corresponding author at: Education and Research Center for Sport and Health Science, University of Konan, 9-4 Naka Koyo-cho, Higashinada-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 658-0032, Japan. Tel./fax: +81788571961.
Naoki Mukai
- Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
Shunpei Miyakawa
- Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
Noboru Mesaki
- Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
Kazuaki Maeda
- Faculty of Intelligence and Informatics, Konan University, Kobe, Japan
Tadashi Yamamoto
- Hyogo University of Teacher Education, Kato, Japan
Philip M. Gallagher
- Human Performance Laboratory, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
Matt Schrager
- Human Performance Laboratory, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
Andrew C. Fry
- Human Performance Laboratory, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA

Accepted 17 June 2009. published online 21 August 2009.

Abstract

Previous studies of methods for stimulating the individual muscles composing the quadriceps femoris have not considered the structural features of a subject's knee joint. In this study, we compared the ratios of the individual muscles composing the quadriceps between subjects with different knee alignments using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.

A total of 18 healthy males were examined: 6 normal knees (age, 23.0±0.6yr; femorotibial angle (FTA), 176.8±0.4°), 6 genu varum (age, 21.8±2.9 yr; FTA, 181.7±2.6°) and 6 genu valgum (age, 21.0±1.6yr; FTA, 172.3±1.5°). The cross-sectional areas (CSAs) of quadriceps muscles were obtained by MR imaging of the entire left thigh. The CSAs of the vastus lateralis (VL), rectus femoris (RF), vastus medialis (VM) and vastus intermedius (VI) muscles were obtained by MR imaging of the entire left thigh in a supine position. The VM/VL ratio was also obtained by dividing the CSA of the VM by that of the VL and compared among the three groups of subjects with different knee alignments.

The genu varum group showed a significantly higher %CSA of VM in the CSA of the quadriceps (VM/Quad) (49.0±2.6%) than values for the other two groups. The genu valgum group showed significantly higher values of RF/Quad (15.2±2.1%) and VL/Quad (40.6±4.0%) than the other groups. The VM/VL ratio was significantly higher in the genu varum than in values for the other two groups.

This difference in CSA, in respect to knee alignment, may be considered when devising muscle training programs.

Keywords: Genu varum, Genu valgum, VM/VL ratio, MRI