The Variability In Mean Q Angle Of Indian Men And Women – A Review

Abstract

Background- Q angle or Quadriceps angle is an indicator of the vector for the combined pull of the patellar tendon and extensor processes and serves as the most important marker of stability of knee joint. Looking at the Indian way of life which encourages sitting and crouching with the legs crossed with a greater likelihood to impose compressive force on the patellofemoral joint. Q angle is found to show variation with gender, and as such due to the numerous alterations observed in this stance across the literature, further research on the Indian populace is recommended.

Method- Pub Med, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PEDRO, and Google Scholar are used to do an automated search for English language articles of Indian origin from the last fifteen years that is 2009-2023. Ten articles were then shortlisted for this review.

Results- The findings suggest that there is a significant difference present in the values of Q angle  among Indian males and females, such that Indian females have considerably higher Q angles than their male counterparts.

Conclusion- Females are having statistically significant higher Q angles than the males and as such they can be more susceptible to injuries or abnormal knee biomechanics. And hence, taking into account such characteristics like gender, height, posture, etc when comparing and measuring the Q angle to understand the function of the quadriceps muscle and its impact on the knee are significant factors to consider.