Published: 18 March 2013 at 10:49
Anglia Ruskin expert links walking pattern asymmetry with knee joint disease
A “10 step” test to monitor people’s walking pattern could be a simple and low-cost way of spotting the early symptoms of knee osteoarthritis, according to the author of a new study.
Osteoarthritis affects 45% of over 65s and costs the UK economy approximately 1% of its annual gross national product. The disease is a growing problem due to obesity and an ageing population.
Dr Rajshree Mootanah is the lead author of a study that analysed the walking pattern, or gait, of 1,678 adults with an average of age of 61, and the findings will be presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) annual meeting in Chicago, which runs from March 19-23.
The research has demonstrated for the first time that gait asymmetry may be an indicator of knee osteoarthritis in older adults who were otherwise healthy.
The asymmetry indices (ASI) for single support (the period of time when only one foot is in contact with the ground) and stance times (the time from heel strike to toe off) were highest for individuals with osteoarthritis in one knee, or unilateral knee osteoarthritis. The test also detected a trend for single support time in bilateral knee osteoarthritis (in both knees) patients, as it is unusual for it to be of the same severity on both sides.
Dr Mootanah, Director of the Medical Engineering Research Group at Anglia Ruskin University, believes that GPs should be trained to spot signs of osteoarthritis.
The research was funded by a US National Institute of Health grant to Principal Investigator David Felson, MD, MPH, from Boston University. This study was conducted by scientists from Anglia Ruskin University, the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions in Boston, the Boston University School of Medicine, the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, the University of Alabama and the University of Iowa.