doi:10.1016/j.knee.2007.12.009      

Copyright © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of trunk lean motion during walking in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis

Kosuke Tanaka, Koji Miyashita, Yukio Urabe, Tomohito Ijiri, Yukiko Takemoto, Yoshimasa Ishii and Mitsuo Ochi

Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Japan

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Japan

Received 21 September 2007;  revised 11 December 2007;  accepted 18 December 2007.  Available online 5 February 2008. 

Abstract

Objective

Trunk lean motion on the frontal plane shifts the pressure across the medial–lateral cartilage of the stance limb's knee. The purpose of this study was to investigate trunk lean motion during walking in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Materials and methods

The study involved five healthy normal controls and 12 patients with symptoms of knee osteoarthritis (six with unilateral and six with bilateral). The trunk lean angle and the direction during one stride cycle of walking were calculated using a three-dimensional gait analysis.

Results

There was no significant difference between the three groups (normal, unilateral knee OA, and bilateral knee OA group). However, patients with bilateral limb knee osteoarthritis displayed a tendency to lean their trunk toward the swing side.

Conclusion

This study determined that bilateral OA patients exhibit the characteristic gait which may progress knee OA.

Keywords: Knee osteoarthritis; Trunk lean motion; Gait analysis

Article Outline

1. Introduction

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Subjects

2.2. Gait analysis

2.3. Statistical analysis

3. Results

4. Discussion

Acknowledgements

References