Knee joint position sense in compressive myelopathy.
METHODS
The knee joint position sense (JPS) and kinesthesia were measured in patients with compressive myelopathy.


OBJECTIVE
To find out how the knee JPS and kinesthesia are useful to evaluate lower limb function in patients with compressive myelopathy.


BACKGROUND
No previous reports have been written on the quantitative analysis of knee joint proprioception in myelopathy patients.


METHODS
Twenty-one compressive myelopathy patients with a mean age of 64 years were studied. The measured values of JPS and kinesthesia were examined in relation to the following: lower limb function and central motor conduction time (CMCT).


RESULTS
Inaccurate angles of the knee JPS in patients with severe walking disability were significantly larger than those in patients with mild disability. Inaccurate angles of the knee JPS in patients with severe sensory disturbance were significantly larger than those in patients with mild disturbance. CMCT showed a significant correlation to the knee JPS.


CONCLUSIONS
The knee JPS was useful to evaluate lower limb function in patients with compressive myelopathy.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Division of Clinical Medical Science, Programs for Applied Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan. teruo@tree.odn.ne.jp
Teruaki
T
Okuda
Mitsuo
M
Ochi
Nobuhiro
N
Tanaka
Kazuyoshi
K
Nakanishi
Nobuo
N
Adachi
Risa
R
Kobayashi
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007699:Kinesthesis / Q000502:physiology*; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020886:Somatosensory Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016138:Walking