Abstract des Autors

Unilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a common orthopedic surgery for end-stage knee osteoarthritis. The annual incidence of TKA steadily increased and is on average 175 procedures per 100,000 population (Kurtz et al., 2011). The main aims of the surgery are to reduce pain, increase mobility and functionality, as well as to improve the quality of life and activity. However, side-to-side asymmetry in dynamic loading patterns is often evident years after surgery (Benedetti et al., 2003; Casartelli et al., 2013; Stacoff et al., 2007) and shown to be related to lower-limb muscle strength deficits (Mizner et al., 2011; Valtonen et al., 2009). Rising from a chair and the more demanding task stair descending are common functional activities of daily living. A balanced load distribution between legs in both tasks is a prerequisite to return to an active lifestyle and to avoid a potential progression of osteoarthritis or an additional joint replacement surgery in the contralateral leg (Milner, 2009; Mizner and Snyder-Mackler, 2005). The beneficial role of physical activity with a specific focus on improving strength for the elderly has been demonstrated in numerous publications. Sport activities that restore symmetrical movement patterns may provide optimal outcomes after TKA. Alpine skiing, a complex sport and a very popular leisure-time activity especially in Alpine regions, has been shown that muscle strength can be increased in elderly (Muller et al., 2011), and this may positively affect functional performance. Therefore, we hypothesized that side-to-side asymmetries in the impulse of vertical ground reaction forces during 1) stair descending and 2) 5-repetition chair rise test will decrease after a 12-week skiing intervention in people with TKA.