JOINTLOADANDMOMENTSDURING
SPORTACTIVITIES
•Tables 101-4 and 101-5 summarize published data
regarding hip and knee joint loads during various
daily and athletic activities (Kuster, 2002).
- As a general guide, the following hip and knee joint
loads can be assumed. During daily activities, loads of
up to 3 to 4 ×body weight(bw) occur, while during
sporting activities loads of 5 to 10 ×bw might occur. - Cycling appears to be the most joint friendly with forces
averaging between 1.2 and 1.5 ×bw at the hip and knee
(less than the forces experienced while walking).
•A key consideration for both walking and jogging: the
hip and knee joint loads increase as speed increases.
During fast running, the knee joint load can reach
10 ×bw or more.
•For activities such as skiing, joint loads can vary sig-
nificantly depending on style, terrain, and experience.
Short turns, large moguls, and inexperience all trans-
late into larger joint loads.
RECREATION OREXERCISE- It is important to consider whether an activity will be
performed for exercise or for recreation.
•In order to maintain cardiovascular fitness, the
American College of Sports Medicine recommends
aerobic exercise at least three times a week for 30 min
or more. - Joint wear shows a strong correlation to load.
Therefore, the most prudent recommendation would
be to engage in activities with lower joint loads, such
as cycling, swimming, and walking, to maintaining
cadiovascular fitness. - Activities with high joint loads, such as running or
tennis, should not be performed as regular endurance
activities; however, if patients would like to resume
certain high load activities for recreation, such as
skiing 1 or 2 weeks a year or hiking on the weekends,
this may be acceptable (Kuster, 2002).
•Even when engaging in high load sports recreation-
ally, every effort should be made to reduce the joint
forces as much as possible. For example, using ski
poles while hiking down hill can reduce the load at the
knees by as much as 20% (Schwameder et al, 1999).
EXPERIENCE ANDPREOPERATIVEACTIVITYLEVEL
OFPATIENT- The preoperative activity level is a strong predictor of
sporting activities postoperatively.
596 SECTION 7 • SPECIAL POPULATIONS
TABLE 101-4 Hip Joint Loads During Different Activities
HIP JOINT
ACTIVITY LOAD (X BW)
Standing on two legs 0.8
Standing on one leg 3.2
Straight leg raise 1.9
Walking at 1 km/h 2.9
Walking at 5 km/h 4.7
Jogging at 5 km/h 5.0
Jogging at 7 km/h 5.4
Stumbling 8.7
Cycling low resistance (40 W) 0.5
Cycling high resistance 1.4
Jogging at 12 km/h 6
Alpine skiing long turns, 4.5
flat slope
Alpine skiing long turns, 6
steep slope
Alpine skiing short turns, 5.5–6
flat slope
Alpine skiing short turns, 7–8
steep slope
Alpine skiing small moguls 8–9
Alpine skiing large moguls 10–15
Cross-country skiing classical 4–5
Cross-country skiing skating 4.5
Walking at natural speed 3.2–6.2
Stair ascent 3.4–6
Car entry 5–8
Car exit 4.5–8
Bath entry 4.6–6.6
Stair ascent 5
Stair descent 5.6
Ramp ascent 6.8
Ramp descent 6.5
ABBREVIATION: bw = bodyweight.
SOURCE: Adapted with permission from Kuster, 2002.
TABLE 101-5 Knee Joint Forces During
Different Activities
KNEE JOINT
ACTIVITY LOAD (X BW)
Walking at 5.4 km/h 3.4–4
Walking 3.0
Walking at 5 km/h 2.8
Walking at 7 km/h 4.3
Walking 3.5
Cycling at 120 W 1.2
Stair ascent 4.3
Stair ascent 5.0
Stair descent 3.8
Stair descent 6
Ramp ascent 4.5
Ramp descent 4.5
Ramp descent at 5.4 km/h 7–8.5
Squat descent 5.6
Isokinetic knee extension Up to 9
Jogging at 9 km/h 8–9
Jogging at 12.6 km/h 10.3
Running at 16 km/h up to 14
Bowling on asphalt alleys up to 12
Skiing medium steep slope —
beginner 10
skilled skier 3.5ABBREVIATION: bw = bodyweight.