Biomechanical analysis to characterize the impact of knee osteoarthritis on hip, knee, and ankle kinematics

Abstract

Background: Numerous studies use a biomechanical assessment to evaluate joint function in knee pathologies such as osteoarthritis. However, most of them focus only on the knee and the consequences of the pathology on other lower limb joints are poorly documented. The objective of this study is to analyze the impact of knee osteoarthritis on ipsilateral hip and ankle joint during gait.

Methods: Three-dimension (3D) angular kinematic patterns of the three joints were analyzed on 32 patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and a control group of 15 asymptomatic subjects (AS). Kinematic data was captured during treadmill gait trials at a self-selected comfortable speed. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed on selected points of interest from 3D kinematic patterns of the hip, knee and ankle joints to compare both groups. The significance level was set at p = .05.

Results: Gait 3D kinematic gait patterns of OA patients revealed significant differences with those of AS subjects at the three joints.

Conclusions: Results suggest that patients with knee osteoarthritis also present alterations in hip and ankle kinematic during gait that should be considered when tailoring conservative treatments.