Validity and Reliability of an Inertial Sensor-Based Knee Proprioception Test in Younger vs. Older Adults.

Anna Lina Rahlf,Evi Petersen,Daniel Hamacher,Dominique Rehwinkel,Astrid Zech

doi:10.3389/fspor.2019.00027

Abstract

Diminishing proprioception caused by aging effects is associated with a higher risk to fall. However, existing measurement systems of proprioception are often expensive, time-consuming, or insufficient regarding reliability evaluation. Inertial sensor-based systems could address these issues. Consequently, this study sought to develop and evaluate an inertial sensor-based joint position sense test. Thereto, intra-session and inter-day test-retest reliability were investigated in a cross-over design. Twenty healthy younger (age: 22 ± 3 years) and 20 healthy older adults (age: 65 ± 5 years) participated in the study. We calculated the mean of the absolute error, the signed error, and the standard deviation of the signed error. Test-retest reliability was quantified by using the intraclass correlation coefficient as well as the bias and limits of agreement. To evaluate the possibility of capturing aging effects, and correspondingly a validation of the system, we calculated Cohen's d. For the intra-session reliability, fair to good agreements were achieved for the absolute and relative error in all target ranges. Compared to younger adults, we registered a declined joint position sense in older adults with high effects observed for the absolute error in a target range of 15–25 and 35–45° as well as for the variable error in the target ranges of 35–45 and 55–65°. We suggest that inertial sensor-based joint position sense tests are reliable and capable to measure aging effects on proprioception, and are therefore a low-cost and mobile alternative to existing methods.

Highlights

Up to 50% of older adults fall at least once per year (Tinetti et al, 1988; Hausdorff et al, 2001; Inouye et al, 2009)
We evaluated the inertial sensor-based joint position sense test by conducting an intra-session and an inter-day test-retest study
To the best of our knowledge, we developed and evaluated the first inertial sensor-based joint position sense test using a testretest design

Summary

Introduction

Up to 50% of older adults fall at least once per year (Tinetti et al, 1988; Hausdorff et al, 2001; Inouye et al, 2009). In older adults, diminishing proprioception is widely discussed to contribute to the increased risk of falling (Proske and Gandevia, 2012; Suetterlin and Sayer, 2013). Proprioception of the joint is used to assess the risk of falling (Lord et al, 2003). Due to the lack of reliable, feasible, and mobile methods to assess proprioception (Benjaminse et al, 2009), such methods are still seldom used in clinical practice (Suetterlin and Sayer, 2013). A reliable assessment of proprioception performance status is beneficial within the scope of evaluating fall risk (Hurley et al, 1998)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion