Correlation between Lower Limb Alignment and Pain as well as Function in Knee Osteoarthritis
Sun Shoukang
Shen Dahui
Song Yang
Xu Xiangjun
Guo Dongsheng
Dong Yuefu
Abstract：Objective To investigate the correlation of lower limb alignment with knee pain as well as function in patients with knee osteoarthritis(KOA).Methods A total of 143 patients with KOA who were treated at the Affiliated Lianyungang Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University between December 2022 and December 2023 were enrolled in this study.The cohort comprised 39 males and 104 females,with an age range of 47 to 86 years and a mean age of 67.90±6.69 years.A total of 143 knees were involved,including 72 left knees and 71 right knees.Weight-bearing full-length radiographs of the lower limbs were obtained to measure the following alignment parameters:The hip-knee-ankle angle(HKA),joint line convergence angle(JLCA),mechanical lateral distal femoral angle(mLDFA),medial proximal tibial angle(MPTA),lateral proximal femoral angle(LPFA),and lateral distal tibial angle(LDTA).Joint function was assessed using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities(WOMAC)Osteoarthritis Index.Pearson correlation and ridge regression analyses were employed to analyze the correlation between the lower limb alignment parameters and knee pain and function in KOA patients.Results Pearson correlation analysis revealed that the WOMAC score showed a significant positive correlation with the JLCA and mLDFA(P＜0.05).Larger JLCA and mLDFA were associated with higher WOMAC scores,indicating more severe knee pain and dysfunction.Conversely,the WOM AC score demonstrated a significant negative correlation with the HKA and MPTA(P＜0.05).Smaller HKA and MPTA were associated with higher WOMAC scores,suggesting greater severity of symptoms.No significant correlation was found between the WOMAC score and the LPFA or LDTA(P＞0.05).Ridge regression analysis indicated that JLCA had a significant positive influence on the WOMAC score,while HKA had a significant negative influence,with this model explaining 70.1％of the variance.Conclusion HKA and JLCA are closely related to pain and function in KOA and can serve as important parameters for assessing disease severity and guiding treatment.
Keywords：knee osteoarthritislower limb alignmentpainfunction
Publication Date：2025-10-25
Online Publishing Date：2025-11-11(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 937-942 )