Article

Hip abductor muscle weakness may result in impaired frontal-plane
pelvic control during gait, leading to greater medial compartment loading in
people with knee osteoarthritis (OA). This study investigated the
effect of an 8-week home strengthening program for the hip abductor muscles on
knee joint loading (measured by the external knee adduction moment during gait),
strength (force-generating capacity), and function and pain in individuals with
medial knee OA. DESIGN: The study design was a nonequivalent, pretest-posttest,
control group design. SETTING: Testing was conducted in a motor performance
laboratory. PATIENTS: An a priori sample size calculation was performed. Forty
participants with knee OA were matched for age and sex with a control group of
participants without knee OA. INTERVENTION: Participants with knee OA completed a
home hip abductor strengthening program. MEASUREMENTS: Three-dimensional gait
analysis was performed to obtain peak knee adduction moments in the first 50% of
the stance phase. Isokinetic concentric strength of the hip abductor muscles was
measured using an isokinetic dynamometer. The Five-Times-Sit-to-Stand Test was
used to evaluate functional performance. Knee pain was assessed with the Western
Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index questionnaire. RESULTS:
Following the intervention, the OA group demonstrated significant improvement in
hip abductor strength, but not in the knee adduction moment. Functional
performance on the sit-to-stand test improved in the OA group compared with the
control group. The OA group reported decreased knee pain after the intervention.
LIMITATIONS: Gait strategies that may have affected the knee adduction moment,
including lateral trunk lean, were not evaluated in this study. CONCLUSIONS: Hip
abductor strengthening did not reduce knee joint loading but did improve function
and reduce pain in a group with medial knee OA.

Langue : ANGLAIS