Biomechanical evaluation of the athlete's knee: from basic science to clinical application

Abstract

Clinical screening to assess knee biomechanical dysfunctions and its comorbidities has been of interest for researchers and clinicians in recent years. Although research in the area of knee injury mechanics has elucidated some of the biomechanical predisposing factors that lead to knee injury, clinicians are still puzzled on how to translate these findings to their clinical practice. Highly instrumented, costly equipment and time-consuming data analyses are some of the difficulties of using 3-dimensional biomechanical analysis in the clinic. However, several biomechanical lower-extremity assessment tools are available and feasible to use in the clinic to guide proper clinical decision making that may impact prevention of knee injuries in the physically active population. The purpose of this article was to review screening techniques for assessment of lower extremity biomechanics and to translate these findings to clinical practice and to bridge the gap between basic science and clinical application. After reading this article, clinicians should be able to (1) identify lower-extremity factors related to knee injury, (2) appropriately select functional tasks to evaluate patients, and (3) make intervention recommendations or appropriate referral to address altered lower-extremity biomechanics related to knee injury.