Fig. 4

Visual representation of changes in the spatial gait pattern caused by MCLT sham and MCLT + MMT surgery in the rat. Using data for a naïve rat walking at an average velocity as a representative spatial pattern, shifts in the spatial pattern caused by MCLT sham or MCLT + MMT surgery are plotted for a rat of the same weight walking at the same velocity. At week 1, the patterns are similar between groups. At week 2, step widths begin to narrow in both MCLT sham and MCLT + MMT animals. At week 4, stride length begins to shorten in the MCLT + MMT group (compare second left footprint between groups). At week 6, stride lengths are significantly reduced in both the MCLT sham and MCLT + MMT groups (compare second left footprint between groups). Unfortunately, owing to the left-justified nature of this plot, spatial asymmetries (left-to-right step length divided by stride length) are difficult to visualize because of the concurrent changes in stride length. MCLT medial collateral ligament transection, MMT medial meniscus transection