Functional movement assessment by means of inertial sensor technology to discriminate between movement behaviour of healthy controls and persons with knee osteoarthritis

Abstract

Background: Apart from biomechanical alterations in movement patterns, it is known that movement limitations in persons with knee osteoarthritis (PwKOA) are related to an individual's perception and belief regarding pain and disability. To gain more insights into the functional movement behaviour of PwKOA in a clinical setting, inertial sensor technology can be applied. This study first aims to evaluate the ability of inertial sensors to discriminate between healthy controls (HC) and PwKOA. Secondly, this study aims to determine the relationship between movement behaviour, pain-related factors and disability scores. Methods: Twelve HC and 19 PwKOA were included. Five repetitions of six functional movement tasks (walking, forward lunge, sideward lunge, ascent and descent stairs, single leg squat and sit-to-stand) were simultaneously recorded by the inertial sensor system and a camera-based motion analysis system. Statistically significant differences in angular waveforms of the trunk, pelvis and lower limb joints between HC and PwKOA were determined using one-dimensional statistical parametric mapping (SPM1D). The Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score and TAMPA scale for Kinesiophobia were used to evaluate the relationship between discriminating joint motion, pain-related factors and disability using spearman's correlation coefficients. Results: PwKOA had significantly less trunk rotation, internal pelvis rotation and knee flexion ROM during walking. Additionally, the reduced knee flexion (i.e. at the end of the stance phase and swing phase) was related to increased level of perceived pain. During the sideward lunge, PwKOA had significantly less knee flexion, ankle plantarflexion and hip abduction. This decreased hip abduction (i.e. during stance) was related to higher fear of movement. Finally, PwKOA had significantly less knee flexion during the forward lunge, single leg squat and during ascent and descent stairs. No significant correlations were observed with disability.

Association between Kinesiophobia and Knee Pain Intensity, Joint Position Sense, and Functional Performance in Individuals with Bilateral Knee Osteoarthritis

“…Knee joint mobility is crucial in the elderly for maintaining functional independence. In subjects with KOA, specific movements in flexion and rotation cause increased pain levels [ 11 ]. This increased pain on movements causes fear of movement, and the individuals will tend to avoid these movements [ 12 , 13 ].…”

Reliability and Validity of an Inertial Measurement System to Quantify Lower Extremity Joint Angle in Functional Movements

“…Such findings also suggested that the IMU system could be employed to quantify upper limb movements. However, to the best of our knowledge, there has been limited information available about the system’s performance in 3D joint kinematic measurements when evaluating a wider range of motion and more complex motion tasks, such as gait (GA), squat (SQ), single-leg squat (SLS), forward lunge (FL), side lunge (SL), and counter-movement jump (CMJ), which are essential for patients with lower extremity dysfunction, especially osteoarthritis [ 25 ]. Secondly, the reliability of the IMU system in measuring human motion has rarely been studied.…”

Inertial Measurement Units and Application for Remote Health Care in Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis: Narrative Review

“…Van der Straaten et al, 2020 [29] Knee OA individuals had more lateral trunk lean toward contralateral leg and more hip flexion throughout performance of unipodal stance task 15 IMU b (MVN BIOMECH Awinda) on entire body Healthy (n=12) and knee OA (n=19) Van der Straaten et al, 2020 [30] a OA: osteoarthritis. b IMU: inertial measurement unit (with accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer).…”

“…In addition to walking, IMUs were used to compare movement patterns during other daily activities between individuals with OA and controls. In 2 studies from the same cohort of people with end-stage knee OA and controls, van der Straaten et al [29,30] compared movement patterns during various activities, including walking, lunge, stair climbing, squatting, sit-to-stand, and single-leg balance. They reported differences in multiple measures, including those representing motions of the trunk and pelvis, which had not been previously reported.…”