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Lateral trunk lean reduces load but not symptoms of knee OA
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A lateral trunk lean toward the symptomatic limb reduced medial knee load in a dose-response manner in individuals with medial knee osteoarthritis, however that practice not yet been associated with any corresponding reduction in disease symptoms or their progression, according to the results of this study.
The researchers worked with a cohort of 22 individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA). The study participants underwent 3D gait analysis, which measured the knee adduction moment (KAM) peaks for early and late stances, as well as KAM impulses, according to the study abstract.
After the natural gaits for each participant were determined, they were instructed to lean their trunk toward the symptomatic limb “during ipsilateral stance over three randomly ordered conditions (leans of 6°, 9° and 12°).” For these altered gaits, the researchers then measured each person’s knee, hip and back pain/discomfort level using linear mixed models to evaluate the load modifying effects of the lean strategy.
According to the study results, all KAM measures were reduced through increased lean with greater reductions seen with greater lean angles. However, OA symptoms remained unchanged, the authors noted.
“No immediate symptomatic changes were identified,” the authors wrote. “Future research should determine if longer-term implementation of this gait strategy is feasible and whether it can modify disease symptoms and OA progression.”
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Simic M. Arthritis Care Res. 2012. doi: 10.1002/acr.21724
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