Efficacy of a target-matching foot-stepping exercise on proprioception and function in patients with knee osteoarthritis.
METHODS
A randomized clinical trial design.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the efficacy of high, repetitive, target-matching foot-stepping exercise (TMFSE) performed in a sitting position on proprioception, functional score, and walking velocity for patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA).


BACKGROUND
Researchers have suggested that exercises to address knee OA should include proprioceptive training. However, most patients cannot tolerate conventional proprioceptive training performed in a standing position.


METHODS
Forty-nine subjects (mean age +/- SD, 63.3 +/- 8.1) with knee OA were randomly assigned to the exercise or no intervention groups. The exercise group practiced TMFSE in sitting, 3 sessions weekly for 6 weeks. All subjects underwent assessments of knee reposition error, functional incapacity score, and walking velocity prior to and after intervention.


RESULTS
The TMFSE significantly improved reposition error from a mean +/- SD of 3.0 degrees +/- 1.6 degrees to 1.5 degrees +/- 0.6 degree, walking velocity on ground level from 44.1 +/- 2.9 to 38.6 +/- 2.5 sec for 60 meters, time to complete a stairs task from 34.2 +/- 2.1 to 26.5 +/- 2.3 seconds, time to complete a figure-of-eight from 51.3 +/- 6.7 to 29.1 +/- 3.6 seconds, and score on a functional incapacity scale from 12.0 +/- 3.1 to 4.9 +/- 1.7, in subjects with knee OA after 6-week intervention (P <.0125). In contrast, the control group showed no change in any of the measured tests.


CONCLUSIONS
TMFSE in sitting appears to be an option for exercise in patients with mild to moderate knee OA. This may be an especially attractive option for patients who may have pain with weight-bearing exercises. A longitudinal study with a larger sample size is needed to confirm the potential use of TMFSE for patients with knee OA.
Jan
Mei-Hwa
MH
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School and Graduate Institute of Physical Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, San-shia Town, Taipei, Taiwan. mhjan@ntu.edu.tw
Tang
Pei-Fang
PF
Lin
Jiu-Jenq
JJ
Tseng
Shih-Chiao
SC
Lin
Yeong-Fwu
YF
Lin
Da-Hon
DH
D000368:Aged; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D015444:Exercise; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D005528:Foot / Q000502:physiology*; D006304:Health Status; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011434:Proprioception / Q000502:physiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires