ANKLE PROPRIOCEPTION IN INDIVIDUALS WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS AND NORMALS

Abstract

ObjectiveTo test the hypotheses that patients with knee OA will have an altered proprioception in ankle. MethodsThis study compared the ankle proprioception levels of a group of 35 clinically and radiographically diagnosed cases of unilateral knee OA by the orthopaedic department of MGM Medical College, Navi Mumbai to a control group of 35 normal subjects. The data was analyzed by an unpaired ‘t’ test. ResultsSince tcal > ttab and P value is < 0.01 we reject H0 and accept Ha i.e. there is significant difference in ankle proprioception in OA knee cases compared to normal’s. ConclusionThere is significant difference in ankle proprioception in OA knee cases compared to normals. These results confirm the strong association between reduced proprioception in ankle in cases of osteoarthritis of knees. Keywordsankle proprioception, patients with knee OA, unpaired ‘t’ test International Journal of Medical and Clinical Research ISSN:0976-5530 & E-ISSN:0976-5549, Volume 3, Issue 5, 2012 Introduction Osteoarthritis (OA) was estimated to be the 10th leading cause of non-fatal burden in the world in 1990, accounting for 2.8% of total Years Lived with Disability (YLD), around the same percentage as schizophrenia and congenital anomalies [1]. In the Version 2 estimates for the Global Burden of Disease 2000 study, published in the World Health Report 2002(5), OA is the 4th leading cause of YLDs at global level, accounting for 3.0% of total global YLDs [2]. The prevalence of arthritis is expected to increase by 57% by 2020, and even more concerning than the actual prevalence of the disease is the high percentage of those patients (66%) that will incur associated activity limitations [3]. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a generally progressive condition that involves both anabolic and catabolic mechanisms within the articular cartilage and bone of synovial joints in response to both internal and external factors [4]. Among these factors are age [5,6], genetics [7], joint/ limb alignment [8-12], joint injury [13], female gender14 and obesity [15,16]. Clinically, OA of the knee is characterized predominantly by pain and limitations in the ability to perform activities of daily living, such as stair climbing, walking, and household chores [17]. These limitations are partly due to joint stiffness, decrease of muscle strength, and proprioception deficits [18-23]. Proprioception, the perception of limb position in space, is derived from afferent signals originating primarily from musculotendinous and joint receptors. Proprioception is critical to the maintenance of joint stability. Studies have demonstrated that knee proprioception is less accurate in patients with knee osteoarthritis versus elderly control subjects, in healthy older versus younger subjects, and in the setting of other conditions affecting the knee including anterior cruciate ligament deficiency and hypermobility syndrome [24,25]. Knee OA appear to present with mechanical stability changes at the ankle-subtalar joint complex [26]. As knee OA continues to progress, the alignment of the lower extremity also continues to change because of the abnormal contact pressures that develop Citation: Sreeraj S.R. and Namratha Bagul (2012) Ankle Proprioception in Individuals with Knee Osteoarthritis and Normals. International Journal of Medical and Clinical Research, ISSN:0976-5530 & E-ISSN:0976-5549, Volume 3, Issue 5, pp.-164-167. Copyright: Copyright©2012 Sreeraj S.R. and Namratha Bagul. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.