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Pain while using stairs could be early indicator of osteoarthritis
Knee pain while climbing stairs was shown to be an early indicator of the development of osteoarthritis in individuals at high risk for osteoarthritis.
The Osteoarthritis Initiative study was comprised of 4,796 participants, 1,390 of whom had confirmed radiographic osteoarthritis (OA), 3,284 were deemed at high risk for OA and 122 healthy control participants. Of those patients, 491 patients were selected for subset analysis, 58% were female and 12% reported seeing a health care provider for arthritis symptoms.
Enrollees completed the WOMAC index annually for up to 7 years. Five questions appear on the WOMAC index about pain related to different mechanical loading: walking, using stairs, standing, sitting or lying down, each with five possible responses ranging from no pain to mild, moderate, severe or extreme.
Rasch analysis, designed to discern individuals with mild, moderate, severe or extreme symptoms, showed that pain experienced while using stairs was most likely to be the first indicator of early stages of OA. Using stairs was followed by walking and standing, each of involve bearing weight. Those were followed by lying or sitting and finally, lying in bed, suggesting that weight-bearing or activity-related pain while bending the knee is most likely to be among early signs of OA. The researchers wrote that at-risk individuals with knee pain while using stairs may benefit from early intervention.
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