Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Clinical Gait Analysis and Gait Rehabilitation
A collaboration between:
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PhD Projects: Taking our Research to the World
Gait CCRE researcher and physiotherapist Jodie McClelland will present the findings of her two research projects at Amsterdam's prestigious JEGM Meeting in September 2006.
The La Trobe University PhD student used 3D gait analysis to investigate how people recover from two different types of knee replacement surgery – unicompartmental knee replacement (which replaces half the knee) and total knee replacement.
She investigated suggestions that the half knee replacement, in preserving the anterior cruciate ligament, created a more normal outcome for patients than full replacement. Her study of 19 patients showed no difference in walking patterns between the two types of surgery.
Jodie is also researching pressure on the knee joint after unilateral knee replacements when patients negotiate small obstacles, compared to regular walking.