Differences in body fat mass, muscular endurance, coordination and proprioception in woman with and without knee pain: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare body fat mass, muscular endurance, multi-joint coordination and proprioception between sedentary adult women with and without knee pain. This cross-sectional study included 149 women. All participants were evaluated using the Visual Analog Scale to determine knee pain during specific functions and divided into 2 groups accordingly. The knee pain group (n=52; mean age: 42.6±4.1 years; mean height: 1.56±5.11 m; mean weight: 75.2±14.1 kg) included patients with mild to moderate knee pain scores. The without knee pain group (n=97; mean age: 41.7±4.2 years; mean height: 1.58±5.06 m; mean weight: 73.4±10.6 kg) included cases who reported no pain. Body composition was assessed using the TANITA Body Composition Analyzer. Concentric maximal torque of the knee flexor and extensor muscles was recorded using an Isomed 2000 isokinetic dynamometer at 180 deg/s. Coordination and proprioception were assessed using the Functional Squat System. There was no significant difference in terms of physical characteristics, body composition parameters and coordination results between groups (p>0.05). Peak torque of flexion (0.65±0.21 N/kg) and extension (0.88±0.23 N/kg) of the affected side in the knee pain group were significantly lower than the without knee pain group dominant side flexion (0.74±0.19 N/kg) and extension (0.98±0.19 N/kg) (p<0.05). A significant difference in knee extension was observed between the affected (0.88±0.23 N/kg) and non-affected sides (0.93±0.21 N/kg) of the knee pain group (p<0.05). There were no significant differences for both legs between groups in terms of coordinative concentric side-to-side deficits and eccentric deficits (p>0.05). The deviation on visible movement for proprioception was significantly higher in the knee pain group (3.23±1.01 cm) than in the without knee pain group (2.78±1.03 cm) (p=0.012). Knee pain impairs flexor and extensor peak torques of knee endurance and multi-joint proprioceptive accuracy in sedentary woman. No differences were observed in terms of body composition and joint coordination of the groups with or without knee pain.