MSc graduate Helen Chong’s thesis work was presented in two posters at the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) 2017 World Congress held in Las Vegas, NV.
Helen's work compared the knee joint moments between several high flexion postures (different types of kneeling and squatting) and between ethnicities. High knee moments have been associated with an increased risk of developing knee osteoarthritis and different cultures use these postures for very different purposes. For example, some might use kneeling for work while others might use it for prayer; the way in which one might kneel for these two activities could be quite different.
Helen found that moments (and the potential knee osteoarthritis risk associated with those moments) are minimized when a flat foot squat posture is used. She also found that East Asian participants’ knee flexion moments were significantly higher than Caucasian participants, which may partly explain why the incidence of knee osteoarthritis has been reported to be higher in some East Asian populations.
Check the conference website for other osteoarthritis work!