Knee

The kneeling position has frequently been associated with a higher prevalence of knee pathologies. People who adopt this position within their work and/or religious activities are more exposed to knee pathologies. In the tall keeling posture, the position of the feet can play an important role in the magnitude of the force and pressure supporting the knee. The objective of this investigation was to compare the magnitude of the ground reaction force, the distribution of the support area and the pressures associated with them, in the tall kneeling posture with two different positions of the feet, in order to identify the position in which less discomfort could be produced and to diminish the potential damage to this joint. A sample of 20 volunteers (age = 22.0±1.5 years; weight = 70.3±13.5 kg) was assessed. Pressure, the contact area, the centre of pressure and GRF, all within the contact surface between the knees and the floor, as well as the discomfort described by the volunteers were measured in two different ankle positions: plantar flexion (PF) and dorsiflexion (DF). In DF condition was observed: a higher frequency of a single pressure peak (p <0.0001); a smaller contact area (p =0.005); a predominantly anterior location of maximum pressures (p =0.002) and a greater discomfort described by the volunteers (p =0.04). Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that the tall kneeling posture with ankles in dorsiflexion produces greater mechanical stress in the anterior region of the support surface of the knees.