An Analytical Study of Quadriceps Angle in the Young adult Population.

Abstract

Introduction: The Q angle which is also known as quadriceps angle is defined as the angle formed between the quadriceps muscles and the patella tendon. The Q angle is an important reflection of biomechanical effect of quadriceps femoris on the movements of knee articulation & maintenance of proper posture. So, its evaluation is an important diagnostic method for evaluation of alignment of knee with that of hip, femur and tibia. Assessment of Q angle is very important and mandatory for picking early patella femoral problems particularly in young adult athletically and physically active sports person. It can change with increasing age. Normal values of the Q angle cited were 10 - 14° for men and 14 -17° for women.

Objectives: To evaluate Quadriceps angle in a young adult population.

Material and Methods: The subjects for our study were healthy young adult students of the Santosh University Ghaziabad, aged 17-25 years, The Quadriceps angle was measured using a electronic universal goniometric method with the subjects supine, the quadriceps relaxed and the lower limbs in neutral rotation. Lateral placement of the tibial tuberosity with respect to the centre of the patella was measured.

Results: A total of 78 participants were assessed in which 39 (50 %) were males and 39 (50 %) were females, average age of the all participants was 21.17 years ranging from 17 to 25 years. The Q angle was obtained in a group of 78 young adult participants and divided equally into two groups based on gender types males and females. The mean age was 21.25± 2.41 and 20.97 ± 2.31 years in male and female participants respectively. The mean of Right Q angle in the female group is greater (13.45 ± 1.25⁰) than the male group (12.39 ± 0.98⁰). The average Q angle of both the limbs was 12.15 ± 0.97 and 13.23±1.27 in male and female participants respectively.

Conclusion: Our findings concluded that the present study documented bilateral variations in the Q angle in young adults population. All measurements were made with the subjects in a supine position, the quadriceps relaxed and the feet in neutral rotation. A positive statistically significant differences was appreciated in the Q angle among males and females participants.