Can pain influence the proprioception and the motor behavior in subjects with mild and moderate knee osteoarthritis?

Abstract

BackgroundOsteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic disease, usually characterized by pain, which is associated with reduced muscle strength, disability and progressive loss of function. However, the pain influence over proprioception and motor behaviour remains unclear. Thus, the purpose of the study was to identify the levels of pain, the proprioceptive acuity and the pattern of muscle recruitment during stair ascent and descent in elderly patients with mild and moderate osteoarthritis (OA) compared to healthy subjects.MethodsThe study participants included 11 healthy elderly subjects (7 women and 4 men) and 31 elderly patients with knee OA (19 women and 12 men). The functional capacity was assessed by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) osteoarthritis index; the pain was evaluated by Wong-Baker faces pain rating scale (WBS) and pressure pain threshold (PPT); the proprioceptive acuity was based on the joint position sense evaluated by electrogoniometer; and the electromyographic (EMG) activity of the major muscles of the lower limb were evaluated during a task of stair ascent and descent of 15 cm. For statistical analysis it was used Statistic for Windows software (StatSoft Inc., version 5.0). Data from the WOMAC index, WBS, the proprioceptive acuity and IEMG (for each muscle in each phase) were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U test and data from PPT was used Kruskal-Wallis test.ResultsHigher scores were found in the WOMAC index and WBS whereas lower scores were seen in PPT in patients with knee OA compared to healthy subjects. In contrast, there were no significant differences in the proprioceptive acuity and EMG results of most muscles analyzed between the groups.ConclusionThe presence of pain does not influence the proprioception and the motor behavior of the thigh muscles during stair ascent and descent in subjects with mild and moderate knee OA.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2474-15-321) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Does pain relate with activation of quadriceps and hamstrings muscles during strengthening exercise in people with knee osteoarthritis?

“…This increased activation may have reflected a pattern aimed at balancing muscle forces across a damaged joint (Astephen Wilson et al 2011 ). As well, pain did not affect either proprioceptive acuity or thigh muscle EMG amplitudes during a stair climbing task in people with mild to moderate knee OA (de Oliveira et al 2014 ). Thus, it remains unclear whether the presence of pain increases or decreases in muscle amplitudes of the quadriceps and hamstrings in people with knee OA.…”

“…However, the opposite has also been observed, where data from 40 participants with mild to moderate knee OA showed that pain was related to greater electromyography (EMG) amplitude and duration in knee OA (Astephen Wilson et al 2011 ). Finally, a recent study discovered that pain did not influence thigh muscle EMG amplitudes or proprioceptive acuity in people with mild and moderate knee OA (n = 31) during a stair climbing task (de Oliveira et al 2014 ). These disparate findings show that the relationships of pain and muscle activation during strengthening exercise remain unclear in knee OA.…”

Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation improves pain and descending mechanics among elderly with knee osteoarthritis

“…9 It is physically demanding, requires greater functional ability than level walking, places greater demands on lower limb joint ROM, 10 and is easily influenced by the knee pain. 11 In comparison with stair ascent, stair descent exhibits faster gait velocity 9 and knee angular velocity 12 in patients with KOA. Moreover, patients with KOA experience smaller maximum knee and hip flexion angles during stair descent than their non-symptomatic counterparts.…”

Influência Da Hiperalgesia No Controle Postural Em Indivíduos Com Osteoartrite De Joelho

“…2 As limitações funcionais na OAJ incluem restrições para caminhar, subir e descer escadas, 3 e qualquer outra atividade que exija descarga de peso sobre o membro afetado. 4 Como o caso do agachamento unipodal, o qual tem sido avaliado, e se mostrou eficiente em revelar diferenças cinemáticas e cinéticas.…”