Correlation of fear avoidance beliefs with pain and physical function in subjects with osteoarthritis of knee (OA knee)

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common cause of musculoskeletal pain and disability in the knee joint. There is also increasing evidence that psychological factors such as fear, anxiety, and depression have adverse effects on disability in people with OA knee. The aim of the study was to identify whether the fear-avoidance beliefs are correlated with physical function & severity of pain in subjects with knee OA. severity of pain, fear avoidance beliefs and functional limitations were assessed in 32 subjects both males and females diagnosed with OA knee. Subjects with any other musculoskeletal, neurological, vascular disorder or trauma affecting lower extremity function were excluded. Outcome measures included Western Ontario and MacMaster Universities Osteoarthritis index (WOMAC), Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ), and Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NRS). Consent was obtained from the participants prior to the study. Severity of pain, fear avoidance beliefs & physical function limitation were assessed in 32 subjects with OA knee using NRS, FABQ and WOMAC respectively. Level of significance was kept at 5%. Result: A statistically significant moderate correlation was found between fear avoidance beliefs with pain and strong correlation with functional limitation. A statistically significant strong correlation found between severity of pain & functional limitation. The study concluded that there is a moderate correlation between fear avoidance beliefs with severity of pain and there is a strong correlation between fear avoidance beliefs with function & between severity of symptoms with function in subjects with OA knee.