Anterior knee pain is one of the major short-term complaints after TKA. Since the introduction of the mobile-bearing TKA,
numerous studies have attempted to confirm the theoretical advantages of a mobile-bearing TKA over a fixed-bearing TKA but
most show little or no actual benefits. The concept of self-alignment for the mobile bearing suggests the posterior-stabilized
mobile-bearing TKA would provide a lower incidence of anterior knee pain compared with a fixed-bearing TKA. We therefore asked
whether the posterior-stabilized mobile-bearing knee would in fact reduce anterior knee pain. We randomized 103 patients scheduled
for cemented three-component TKA for osteoarthrosis in a prospective, double-blind clinical trial. With a 1-year followup,
more patients experienced persistent anterior knee pain in the posterior-stabilized fixed-bearing group (10 of 53, 18.9%)
than in the posterior-stabilized mobile-bearing group (two of 47, 4.3%). No differences were observed for range of motion,
visual analog scale for pain, Oxford 12-item questionnaire, SF-36, or the American Knee Society score. The posterior-stabilized
mobile-bearing knee therefore seems to provide a short-term advantage compared with the posterior-stabilized fixed-bearing
knee.
Level of Evidence: Level I, therapeutic study. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
The institution of the authors has received funding from Zimmer bv, Amersfoort, The Netherlands.
Each author certifies that his or her institution has approved the human protocol for this investigation, that all investigations
were conducted in conformity with ethical principles of research, and that informed consent for participation in the study
was obtained.