Weight is a major risk factor for development of knee osteoarthritis, but not hip or ankle arthritis. One possible mechanism for this is the generation of abnormal gait biomechanics secondary to obesity that are conducive to the development of knee osteoarthritis.
We evaluate gait biomechanics, knee symptoms and knee radiographs in 35 obese patients before and after gastric bypass surgery to determine the effect of significant weight loss on gait biomechanics, knee symptoms and knee radiographs.