Dynamic postural control correlates with activities of daily living and quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis

BACKGROUND: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) negatively affects dynamic postural control, which is a basic function that individuals use to perform activities of daily living (ADL). The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations of center of pressure (COP) control during the transition from double-leg to single-leg standing with subjective assessments of ADL and quality of life (QOL) in patients with knee OA. METHODS: Thirty-six patients (29 females) with moderate-to-severe knee OA participated. Dynamic postural control was evaluated during the transition from double-leg to single-leg standing. Each patient stood on a force plate, lifted the less affected limb as fast as possible, and maintained single-leg standing with the more affected limb. The COP movements corresponding to anticipatory postural adjustment (APA) and transitional phases were assessed. The maximum displacement and peak velocity of the COP movements in the medial–lateral direction were calculated. The Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) was used for the subjective assessment of ADL and QOL. Pearson’s product correlation analysis was performed to investigate the associations of COP movements in the APA and transitional phases with KOOS-ADL and KOOS-QOL. RESULTS: In the APA phase, the maximum COP displacement was significantly correlated with KOOS-ADL (r = -0.353, P = 0.035) and KOOS-QOL (r = -0.379, P = 0.023). In the transitional phase, the maximum COP displacement and peak COP velocity were significantly correlated with KOOS-ADL (maximum displacement: r = 0.352, P = 0.035; peak velocity: r = 0.438, P = 0.008) and with KOOS-QOL (maximum displacement: r = 0.357, P = 0.032; peak velocity: r = 0.343, P = 0.040). CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed that smaller COP movements in the APA phase and smaller and slower COP movements in the transitional phase correlated with poorer ADL and QOL conditions in patients with knee OA. These findings suggest that poor dynamic postural control is associated with poor ADL and QOL conditions in patients with moderate-to-severe medial knee OA. Conservative treatment for patients with knee OA may need to focus on dynamic postural control during the transition from double-leg to single-leg standing.