Gait oscillation analysis during gait and stair-stepping in elder patients with knee osteoarthritis

BACKGROUND: Evaluation of knee and lower limb function alone is not sufficient to assess gait. For accurate assessment of gait abnormality, gait oscillation should also be measured. The goal of this analysis was to assess the influence of the knee joint on gait oscillation during gait and stair-stepping in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. METHODS: In 33 patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis and 33 healthy adults as the control group, we examined acceleration (anterior and lateral directions) and gait barycentric factors (single-support phase and ratio of center of gravity maximum values) during gait and stair-stepping. RESULTS: Acceleration in the anterior direction in the sacral region was greater in healthy adults than in osteoarthritis (OA) patients during gait and stair-down. Acceleration in the anterior direction in the dorsal vertebral region was greater in OA patients than in healthy adults during (up and down) stair-stepping. Acceleration in the lateral direction in the sacral region was greater in healthy adults than in OA patients during stair-up. Acceleration in the lateral direction in the dorsal vertebral region was greater in OA patients than in healthy adults during stair-stepping. The single-support phase was close to 1 for gait and stair-stepping in healthy adults and OA patients. The single-support time was largely the same for gait and stair-stepping in healthy adults. On the other hand, the single-support time was longer for stair-stepping than for gait in OA patients. The ratio of the center of gravity maximum values was greater for the sacral region than for the dorsal vertebral region. There was a significant difference in the stair-stepping ratio of the center of gravity maximum values between healthy adults and OA patients for the sacral region. CONCLUSION: We considered that knee OA influenced acceleration in the anterior and lateral direction in the dorsal vertebral and the ratio of the center of gravity maximum values on gait oscillation.