Self-Perception of the Knee Is Associated with Joint Motion during the Loading Response in Individuals with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study.

Haruki Toda,Koji Fujita,Mitsunori Tada,Yuki Yamauchi,Tsubasa Maruyama

doi:10.3390/s21124009

Abstract

Small knee flexion motion is a characteristic of gait in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. This study examined the relationship between knee flexion excursion in loading response and knee self-perception in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. Twenty-one individuals with knee osteoarthritis participated in this study. Knee flexion excursions in loading response while walking at a comfortable and a fast-walking speed were measured using an inertial measurement unit-based motion capture system. The degree of knee perceptual impairment was evaluated using the Fremantle Knee Awareness Questionnaire (FreKAQ). The relationships between the FreKAQ score and gait variables and knee function were evaluated by calculating the correlation coefficient. The unique contributions of knee self-perception and muscle strength to knee flexion excursion in loading response were analyzed using hierarchical linear regression. Knee self-perception was significantly correlated with pain during walking, muscle strength and knee flexion excursion at fast speed. In the fast speed condition only, impaired knee self-perception was inversely proportional to knee flexion excursion and accounted for 21.8% of the variance in knee flexion excursion. This result suggests that impaired self-perception of the knee may help to explain the decrease in the knee flexion excursion in the loading response in individuals with knee osteoarthritis.

Highlights

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders among older adults [1]
We evaluated the degree of knee perceptual impairment using the Fremantle Knee Awareness Questionnaire (FreKAQ) [24], which comprises nine items investigating neglect-like symptoms, reduced proprioceptive acuity, and perceived body shape and size scored from 0 to 36 (Table 1)
This study examined the relationship between self-perception of the knee and knee joint excursion during the loading response when walking at comfortable and faster speeds in 21 individuals with knee OA

Summary

Introduction

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders among older adults [1]. Many individuals with knee OA experience clinical symptoms such as pain, articular stiffness and deformation, restriction of range of motion (RoM), and muscle weakness [2]. These contribute to abnormal knee joint motions that are often observed in individuals with knee OA during walking [3,4]. We aimed to investigate the relationship between knee joint excursion in the loading response while walking at a comfortable and fast walking speed and the self-perception of the knee in individuals with knee OA. We hypothesized that impaired self-perception of the knee relates to a reduction of knee flexion excursion in the loading response in both comfortable and fast speed conditions

Participants

Results

Conclusions