In-vitro measurement of the human knee joint motion during quadriceps leg raising

This paper represents a three-dimensional motion analysis of the human knee joint under given conditions of loading and constraint. As the knee is extended by a known force applied to the quadriceps tendon, relative displacements of the femur, tibia, and patella are measured using a video motion analysis system. The most prominent motion of the tibia is external rotation and anterior displacement relative to the femur during knee extension. The patellar flexion angle decreases from 70° to 0°. The moment arm of the knee extensor mechanism exhibits a characteristic bell shape which peaks somewhere in the 40°–60° region of flexion. In general, the quadriceps force results primarily from an increase in the torque exerted by the weight of the lower leg. In the range of 20°–60°, the quardricep force needed to extend the leg remains relatively constant. As the knee approaches full extension, the moment arm decreases due to the fact that the posterior capsule and the ACL begin to tighten in this region. Consequently, the quadriceps force increases rapidly.