What is the difference between abduction and adduction?
To abduct is to move the limb away from the central line of the body: to adduct is to move it towards the central line of the body.
What muscles are involved in knee abduction?
Abduction of the knee involves the gluteus medius, gluteus minimus and tensor fascia lata.
"....Controlling the frontal plane pelvic position during landing may help to avoid injurious ground reaction forces and consequent knee abduction moment....."
What is the knee 'abduction moment'?
During gait analysis the way the athlete's foot lands on the force plate during running, cutting and landing manoeuvres allows the measurement of the contribution of different forces acting through the knee.
Thus one can measure the 'abduction moment', or the contribution to landing that is absorbed by the abductors of the knee. By measuring these various moments, the examiner can determine how balanced the muscles are. These measurements can predict to some extent the likelihood of any one athlete developing patellofemoral pain (PFP) or tearing their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
"....In adolescent girls aged 13.3 years, >15 Nm of knee abduction load during landing is associated with greater likelihood of developing PFP. Also, in girls aged 16.1 years who land with >25 Nm of knee abduction load during landing are at increased risk for both PFP and ACL injury...."
Other relevant links on KNEEguru
A-Z Keywords - Abductor, Hip Abduction, Hip external rotation and abduction
eBooks - Cornerstones of early knee rehabilitation
Primers -