MINI REVIEW article
Front. Rehabil. Sci.
Sec. Rehabilitation for Musculoskeletal Conditions
Off-axis biomechanical alterations and related interventions in medial knee osteoarthritis: A mini review
Provisionally accepted
- University of Maryland, Baltimore, United States
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Medial compartment knee osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of knee OA and can be influenced by off-axis (frontal and transverse plane) biomechanics. Abnormalities such as varus malalignment, elevated knee adduction moment (KAM), dynamic varus thrust, altered step width, lateral trunk lean, reduced tibial rotation, and abnormal foot progression angle (FPA) contribute to excessive medial loading and are associated with symptom severity and structural progression. These modifiable factors present important targets for conservative management. This mini-review synthesizes current evidence on off-axis biomechanical impairments in medial knee OA and evaluates rehabilitation strategies designed to modify these mechanics. Gait retraining strategies, particularly personalized FPA modification, can reduce KAM and improve pain, with real-time biofeedback enhancing effectiveness. Valgus off-loader bracing alleviates pain related to medial knee OA and may be used as an adjunct for appropriately selected patients, especially when combined with practitioner guidance on brace fit and use. Lateral wedge insoles may provide small biomechanical benefits in a subset of individuals, while its effectiveness on symptom relief is not affirmative. Hip abductor strengthening reliably improves symptoms and function, although its load-modifying mechanisms and structural benefits remain unclear. Overall, current evidence supports a personalized, biomechanically informed approach targeting on off-axis biomechanics to managing medial knee OA. Future work should prioritize long-term randomized controlled trials and precision-based methods to identify individuals most likely to benefit from off-axis biomechanical interventions. Future clinical trials should also distinguish structural and functional off-axis biomechanical factors to optimize intervention effectiveness across distinct biomechanical phenotypes within medial knee OA.
Keywords: Biomechanics, frontal, Gait retraining, medialknee osteoarthritis, Off-axis, Rehabilitation, transverse
Received: 03 Dec 2025; Accepted: 30 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Li, Baghi and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Zongpan Li
Li-Qun Zhang
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