Self-Reported Walking Difficulty Associated with Stiff-Knee Gait in Japanese Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Preliminary Cross-Sectional Study.

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

doi:10.3390/healthcare9101308

Abstract

Background: Individuals with knee osteoarthritis are restricted in their daily activity because of walking difficulty. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the association between self-reported walking difficulty and knee flexion excursion during gait in Japanese patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: Twenty-eight patients with knee osteoarthritis participated in this study. Knee flexion excursions in loading response and swing during gait were measured through an inertial measurement unit-based motion capture system. The walking difficulty was assessed by a subitem in the Japanese Knee Osteoarthritis Measure. Pain intensity was assessed by a visual analog scale. Characteristics and gait variables were compared between groups that were determined a priori using the results of the walking difficulty assessment. The relationship between knee flexion excursion during gait and walking difficulty were analyzed using logistic regression. Results: The participants with walking difficulty had significantly small knee flexion excursion in both loading response and swing with large pain. After controlling the effect of pain, only knee flexion excursion in the swing was significantly related to the walking difficulty. Conclusions: This study suggested that the knee flexion excursion in swing during gait is helpful for understanding the walking difficulty experienced in Japanese patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Highlights

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a major musculoskeletal problem among the elderly
This study aimed to examine the relationship between self-reported walking difficulty and knee flexion excursion in loading response and swing among Japanese patients with knee OA
This study examined whether the stiff-knee gait pattern of individuals with knee OA was related to self-reported walking difficulty in daily living, and we found that the knee flexion excursion in the swing was associated with difficulty in walking on a flat surface (Figure 3), which partially supports our hypothesis

Summary

Introduction

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a major musculoskeletal problem among the elderly. InJapan, the prevalence of radiographic knee OA has been reported to be 48.2% in males and 71.9% in females aged 70–79 years [1]. Individuals with knee osteoarthritis are restricted in their daily activity because of walking difficulty. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the association between self-reported walking difficulty and knee flexion excursion during gait in Japanese patients with knee osteoarthritis. The walking difficulty was assessed by a subitem in the Japanese Knee Osteoarthritis Measure. Results: The participants with walking difficulty had significantly small knee flexion excursion in both loading response and swing with large pain. After controlling the effect of pain, only knee flexion excursion in the swing was significantly related to the walking difficulty. Conclusions: This study suggested that the knee flexion excursion in swing during gait is helpful for understanding the walking difficulty experienced in Japanese patients with knee osteoarthritis

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