Lower-limb force production in individuals after unilateral total knee arthroplasty

Objective: To determine and compare lower-limb force production during a single-leg horizontal press in involved and uninvolved limbs in people with unilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and the limb of age- and gender-matched subjects. Design: Quasi-experimental, posttest only control group design. Setting: Subjects living in the community and were tested at a university facility. Participants: Nine people with unilateral TKA and 9 subjects without TKA volunteered. The mean postsurgery time for the TKA group was 15.89 +/- 6.62 months. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measure: Force production in kilograms during a single-leg press. Results: Lower-limb force production differed significantly between involved and uninvolved limbs (P = .007) for the unilateral TKA group. Lower-limb force production of the involved limb in persons with unilateral TKA was significantly lower than the limb of the age- and gender-matched controls (P = .0001). Conclusions: Lower-limb force production on the involved side was significantly lower than the uninvolved side. When compared with an age-matched control group, subjects with unilateral TKA produced less force during a single-leg horizontal press. (C) 2004 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.