title: Tests for physical function of the elderly with knee and hip osteoarthritis.
abstract: This study reports the results of a battery of physical function tests used to assess physical function of older patients with clinical knee and/or hip osteoarthritis (OA), and the correlation to the WOMAC Index (disease-specific questionnaire). A total of 106 sedentary subjects, aged >60 years (mean 69.4, S.D. 5.9) with hip and/or knee OA (mean 12.2 yrs, S.D. 11.0) participated in the study. Mobility, joint flexibility and muscle strength were evaluated by recording time to: walk a distance of 8', ascend/descend 4 stairs, rise from/sit down from a chair (5 times). Hip/knee flexion and isometric quadriceps strength were also measured. Categories of performance were formed by dividing data into quartiles for each test (1=highest, 4=lowest score, 5=unable to complete) and, by summing the category scores, a total summary score (TSS) was obtained. The battery of physical function tests showed an acceptable test-retest reliability (ICC of all tasks > or =0.80) and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha > or =0.80). Performance scores on walking, stair climb, chair-rise and ROM of affected OA joints were significantly correlated with each other, and with the WOMAC Index (P<0.05, Spearman's correlation). Lower scores on the TSS were associated with lower scores on all the WOMAC Index items (P<0.001). This study shows that a simple battery of physical function tests in combination with the WOMAC Index are reliable and may be useful outcome measures in the evaluation of therapeutic interventions and geriatric rehabilitation.
authors.affiliation: Sheffield Centre of Sports Medicine, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, England.
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Davey
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cochrane
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000503:physiopathology; D015207:Osteoarthritis, Hip / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000592:standards; D011788:Quality of Life; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016138:Walking