RESUMO
Any disturbance in balance control procedures may increase the risk of injury during sport activities. Knee deformities such as genu valgum and genu varum may perturb the line of gravity passing the lower limb joints and so disturb dynamic and static balance indices. This study was designed to investigate the effects of genu valgum and genu varum deformity on the static and dynamic balance indices. A total of 90 non-athletic female university students were assigned in one of the three experimental groups; normal knee [n=30], genu varum [n=30] and genu valgum [n=30], according to their knee conditions. Static and dynamic overall stability index [OSI], anterior-posterior stability index [APSI], medial-lateral stability index [MLSI] and falling risk were evaluated three times by Biodex balance system, and the average of each index were recorded. No significant difference was seen between groups in term of dynamic and static OSI and APSI, while significant lower stability was found in the genu varum group compared to normal groups in term of dynamic and static MLSI [p<0.05]. A significant increased in falling risk was also seen in genu varum group, compared to the normal group [p<0.05]. The results showed that mechanical disturbance due to the genu varum deformity may perturb the medial-lateral balance indices in both static and dynamic situations. This may indicate that genu varum deformity may increase the normal postural sway in the medial lateral direction and increase falling risk as well