Kinematic vs Mechanical In TKA…Drumroll…No Difference

August 31, 2025 1 min read Premium comments

Long-leg radiographs showing alignment after total knee arthroplasty: AP view with hip–knee–ankle (HKA) angle, coronal femoral (FFC) and tibial (FTC) component angles, and lateral femoral (LFC) and tibial (LTC) component alignment / Source: Wikimedia Commons

StudiesPremiumTotal Knee Arthroplastyrandomized controlled trialkinematic alignmentfemoral valgusgait analysisHKA anglemechanical alignmentsoft-tissue releasetibial varus#proms

It’s the knee alignment debate that just won’t quit. On one side, the mechanical alignment (MA) traditionalists, armed with decades of data and the comfort of neutral axes. On the other, the kinematic alignment (KA) enthusiasts, promising more “natural” knees and fewer soft-tissue releases. If this were a heavyweight fight, you’d expect fireworks.

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