%0 Journal Article
%T Effect of Mild and Severe Unilateral Knee Joint Pain on Gait in Elderly Females
%A Hiroki Sugiura
%A Shinichi Demura
%J Journal of Geriatrics
%D 2014
%R 10.1155/2014/820428
%X Gait change in the elderly may be a strategy to maintain postural stability while walking. However, gait laterality is accompanied by back pain or an increased risk of a fall. This study aimed to examine group-related differences and gait laterality in elderly females with mild or severe unilateral knee pain. Seventy-five elderly females (66¨C87 years old) were included, which comprised the following groups: 47 with mild unilateral knee pain and 28 with severe unilateral knee pain. They completed a 12£¿m walk test with maximum effort. Stance time, swing time, and step length were selected as evaluation parameters. A two-way ANOVA (group leg) was used for analysis. No significant differences were found in interaction or in either main factor of the group and leg. In conclusion, elderly females do not show group-related differences or gait laterality regardless of the degree (mild or severe) of unilateral knee pain. 1. Introduction Walking is the most basic movement in daily life [1]. In old age, walking can be greatly affected by a marked decline in physical functions such as leg strength, balance, and leg joints. As a result, the frequency of activities of daily living (ADL) becomes markedly limited [2], quality of life (QOL) decreases [3], and the risk of fall increases [4]. It is therefore important to prevent a decrease of the aforementioned physical parameters in the elderly. Arthritis-associated knee joint pain affects locomotion in the elderly, particularly the female elderly. They have difficulty in walking or standing up [5, 6]. There are considerable individual differences in the degree of these conditions even among the elderly with knee joint pain. Tennant et al. [7] reported that approximately 8% of elderly individuals have severe knee pain requiring regular visits to a hospital or hospitalization. On the other hand, the elderly with mild knee pains who do not require regular visits are considered to be an auxiliary group of the severe knee pain group [8, 9]. This subset accounts for approximately 20% of the elderly [10¨C12]. Astephen et al. [13] and Sugiura and Demura [14] examined the effect of the degree of knee pain on gait and reported that the elderly with severe knee pain have inferior walking ability compared to those with mild knee pain. Walking is a symmetric and rhythmical exercise. The elderly with unilateral knee pain may have difficulty in exerting strength in the affected leg [5, 15], leading to gait laterality. Gait laterality in the elderly is a strategy to maintain stability during walking. However, it is accompanied by back
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jger/2014/820428/