Knee hyperextension during stance
Draft — clinical review requiredThe knee moves past straight during stance, sometimes forcefully (back knee).
Locate — when it occurs
Our event terms, with functional phase names alongside.
- Heel strikeInitial contact
- Foot flatLoading response
- MidstanceMidstance
- Heel offTerminal stance
- Toe offPre-swing
- Feet adjacentInitial swing
- Tibia verticalMid swing
- Heel strike (next)Terminal swing
Go deeper
Open each part when you are ready.
Observe
- Knee snaps or drifts backward in stance (side view).
Example mechanisms
- Quadriceps weakness — locking the knee avoids reliance on the muscle.
- Plantarflexor spasticity or contracture limiting tibial progression.
- Proprioceptive loss.
- Ligamentous laxity.
- An observed deviation describes movement; it does not identify a single diagnosis or a single weak muscle.
Possible compensation
- A locked knee can provide stance stability when quadriceps control is limited.
What to examine next
- Quadriceps strength.
- Ankle dorsiflexion range and plantarflexor tone.
- Knee proprioception and ligament integrity.
Clinical reasoning sequence
- Observe → Explain possible causes → Examine → Choose an intervention → Reassess.
Connect — related deviations
Apply it
Which ankle finding could contribute to knee hyperextension?
Sources and review status
Draft — clinical review required
Starting points for verification. Validated protocols are linked where available; clinical content has not yet been reviewed.
Learning objectives
- Recognize knee hyperextension during stance and when it occurs in the gait cycle.
- Separate the observed movement from a possible cause and from any compensation.
- Choose examination findings that would help distinguish between causes.