Original articleWeight-Bearing Asymmetry in Relation to Measures of Impairment and Functional Mobility for People With Knee Osteoarthritis
Section snippets
Participants
Participants for the OA group were recruited from the patients of 3 orthopedic surgeons at the University of Colorado Hospital prior to TKA from October 2008 to December 2009. Only patients with unilateral knee OA were included, defined by patients reporting no more than half the level of pain of their nonaffected knee compared with their affected knee (based on an NPRS of 0–10). Volunteers were excluded if they were not within the age range of 50 to 85 years or had uncontrolled hypertension,
Group Comparison
Descriptive data for the OA and CTL groups are included in table 1. The participants ranged in age from 51 to 85 years in the OA group and 58 to 81 years in the CTL group. Statistical comparison of sex, age, body mass, and body height revealed no significant differences between groups. Also included in table 1 are the WBA, functional mobility measures, and knee impairment measures for both groups.
Weight-Bearing Asymmetry
There was a significant difference (P=.015) noted between the 2 groups in WBA during the FTSST (see
Discussion
People with end-stage unilateral knee OA demonstrate greater WBA during transitions between sitting and standing than healthy adults of similar age. The observed WBA for the OA group is positively correlated to the impairments of pain and strength, but not knee motion. Additionally, there is a negative correlation between WBA and functional mobility during tasks requiring lower-limb loading.
Asymmetry has been examined during functional tasks for people with OA.1, 3, 4, 5 The functional task of
Conclusions
People with end-stage unilateral knee OA demonstrate asymmetric loading of their lower limbs during transitions between sitting and standing. Additionally, greater amounts of WBA are correlated with greater knee pain, greater strength impairment, and poorer functional mobility. These results indicate the importance of considering both the cause and effects of chronic WBA when attempting to improve the health and function of people with knee OA.
Acknowledgments
We thank Michael Bade, PT, for assistance with manuscript review and Tasia Robertson, SPT, and James Hedgecock, SPT, for assistance with data reduction.
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Supported by an National Institutes of Health K23 grant (grant no. K23AG029978) and the Bob Doctor Memorial Research Award.
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
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