Effects of Mild and Severe Knee Joint Pain on the Frequency of Falls and Fall Risk in Elderly Females

Hiroki Sugiura,Shinichi Demura

doi:10.4236/pst.2014.24020

Abstract

This study aimed to examine differences in the frequency of falls during the past year and fall risk among 392 elderly females was categorized into five groups on the basis of the knee pain expe-rienced: no knee pain, mild unilateral knee pain, mild bilateral knee pain, severe unilateral knee pain, and severe bilateral knee pain. The subjects participated in a fall risk survey comprising 50 items representing five risk factors: “symptoms of falling”, “disease and physical symptoms”, “en-vironment”, “behavior and character”, and “physical function”. The frequency of falls during the past year, score for each risk factor, and the total fall risk score were not significantly different between the mild unilateral and mild bilateral knee pain groups, and between the severe unilateral and severe bilateral knee pain groups. Therefore, these groups were pooled to form a mild knee pain group and a severe knee pain group and analyzed. The severe knee pain group had experienced a significantly greater number of falls during the past year compared with the no knee pain group. Furthermore, the symptom of falling score was significantly higher in the severe knee pain group than in the no knee pain group, while the disease and physical symptoms score was significantly higher in the mild and severe knee pain groups than in the no knee pain group. The physical function score and total fall risk score were significantly higher in the following order: the severe knee pain group, the mild knee pain group, and the no knee pain group. Our results indicate that for elderly females who can achieve ADL independently, the degree of knee pain (mild or severe) has a marked effect on fall risk, irrespective of laterality of the pain (unilateral or bilateral). Factors such as symptoms of falling, disease and physical symptoms, and physical function are also related to fall risk in this population. Furthermore, elderly individuals with severe knee pain experience frequent falls.

Highlights

With advancing age, physical functions, such as leg strength, balance, and leg joint function, show a marked decrease, limiting activities of daily living (ADL) [1] [2]
Many studies have focused on elderly individuals with severe pain [12] [16] [17], few have examined the frequency of falls and fall risk among elderly individuals with knee pain, including mild knee pain
It was observed that mean age, fall frequency, scores for each risk factor, and the total fall risk score were not significantly different between the mild unilateral knee pain (G2) and mild bilateral knee pain (G3) groups and between the severe unilateral knee pain (G4) and severe bilateral knee pain (G5) groups

Summary

Introduction

Physical functions, such as leg strength, balance, and leg joint function, show a marked decrease, limiting activities of daily living (ADL) [1] [2]. Advanced lower limb arthritis often develops in the knee joints [7] and increases the fall risk [8]. Tennant et al [10] reported that 8% of elderly individuals had such severe knee pain that they require regular visits to a hospital or hospitalization. Elderly individuals with mild knee pain who do not require regular visits to a hospital are considered to be an auxiliary group of the severe knee pain group [7] [11] [12] and account for approximately 20% of the elderly population [13]-[15]. Elderly individuals with knee pain are divided into those with unilateral knee pain and bilateral knee pain. These groups may have different fall risks. It has been reported that elderly females have a high prevalence of knee pain [7] [18]

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Discussion

Conclusion