Kinematic alignment, new option in knee replacement

Knee is the largest and the most complex joint in the body. It is very much needed for any form of movement – such as running, walking, swimming and cycling. On most occasions, knee replacement is usually done in people aged 60 and older. Knee replacement is a surgical procedure to resurface a knee damaged by arthritis.

What is Kinematic knee alignment?

‘Kinen’ in old Greek means to move and the word kinematics is the part of classical mechanics. Kinematic axes of movement depend upon how the flex rotates and flexes. Hence, the Kinematic alignment is a 3D alignment and cannot be studied as a whole only through an X-ray.

Process of Kinematic knee alignment

It is a relatively new surgical technique for implementing total knee replacement. Majority of the patients are eligible for it and hence this is highly recommended by Orthopedic surgeons worldwide. Kinematically aligning is a relatively easier and a straightforward method. It is used in total knee replacement Arthroplasty (TKA), which is a surgical technique that is developed recently aiming at anatomically positioning and kinematically aligning all the knee components. The process aims to resurface the knee joint by removing a cartilage and bone thickness equivalent to the implant thickness and where the knee implants are aligned on the knee kinematic axis that dictates the motion/movement.

It uses caliper measurements to adjust the position of the implants to within 1/2 of a millimeter. Half millimeter adjustments are much more accurate than robotics and navigational instruments, used in mechanic alignment.