Reliability and Validity of Gait and Postural Balance Parameters
Condition: Osteoarthritis, Knee
MeSH terms: Osteoarthritis; Osteoarthritis, Knee
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients, have impairments in gait and balance. Accurate gait and
      postural balance analysis is needed to detect this impairments. Nevertheless methodological
      quality about the recording of gait and balance analysis in KOA patients is lacking in
      literature.
    

Detailed description: 
      In patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA), impairments in gait and balance are well
      recognized and therefore objective and accurate gait and postural balance analysis is crucial
      to detect potential alterations in balance and gait function in this patient group.

      Gait analysis in orthopaedic patients has been mainly investigated during level walking at a
      self-selected speed or at pre-determined gait velocities. Nevertheless, walking at a
      comfortable speed may not necessary result in any gait impairments and therefore the use of
      more challenging tasks is probably required. In addition, some patients are not able to walk
      at a required walking speed or slope, because of pain and disability. Therefore it seems
      reasonable to evaluate gait parameters of KOA patients while walking at different speeds and
      surface inclinations.

      Postural balance parameters are also important outcome measures in the assessment of KOA
      patients. Postural stability is generally assessed throughout the quantification of the
      displacement and velocity of the centre of pressure (COP) with larger excursions and higher
      velocities indicating poorer balance.

      Recently, instrumented treadmill systems (ITS) have been introduced for the evaluation of
      spatiotemporal and kinetic gait as well as postural balance parameters throughout a
      capacitance-based foot pressure platform. Further, they permit an assessment of the gait
      parameters at different speeds and slopes. Spatiotemporal and kinetic gait parameters
      provided by ITS have been shown to be valid and reliable during level walking in healthy
      young and elderly persons and during walking at different speeds and slopes. ITS can also be
      used for the quantification of static balance, because they are able to provide the velocity
      and displacement changes of COP. However the validity and reliability of gait and postural
      balance analysis at different slopes and speeds in patients with KOA are lacking.

      Similarly to ITS, photoelectric cell systems (PCS) also permit the quantification of
      spatiotemporal gait parameters but in addition they are portable, their set up is very quick,
      they are relatively cheap and can be adapted to a treadmill. PCS have been shown to be both
      valid and reliable for the assessment of spatiotemporal gait parameters in healthy adults and
      also in KOA patients.

      The main aim of this study is to evaluate the methodological quality of postural and gait
      parameters assessed at different treadmill inclinations and velocities using an ITS in
      patients with KOA. In particular, we will investigate the test-retests reliability, the
      discriminant validity and the concurrent validity.
    

Intervention name(s): Instrumented Treadmill System
Intervention type(s): Device
Intervention description(s): Patients will perform twice a gait and a balance analysis on an instrumented treadmill system combined to a photoelectric cell system while controls will only perform once.
Other intervention name(s): Photoelectric Cell System
Intervention model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Screening