Article

This study aimed to evaluate the role of the knee joint in the neurosensory
organization of balance control and the generation of postural sensorimotor
strategies. Ten patients, aged over 60 years and having undergone unilateral
total knee replacement (TKR) for osteoarthritis, and 20 controls were submitted
to static and dynamic posturographic tests and to a sensory organization test
(SOT) aiming at evaluating postural control in quiet stance and during movement.
The patients were submitted to these evaluations after the disappearance of pain
(TKR(1)) and at the end of a 6-week rehabilitation program (TKR(2)). Balance
control being greatly improved at TKR2 compared to TKR1, the patients attain a
quality of postural regulation similar to that of the controls; some postural
abnormalities did however persist for the static test. Moreover, SOT values at
TKR(2) close to those of the controls highlighted an improvement in motor
response, better management in altered proprioceptive information situations, and
greater use of the ankle to control balance. This model of intervention on the
knee joint, namely knee replacement due to osteoarthritis, has shown that gradual
functional sensorimotor restoration after TKR, due to intrasensory proprioceptive
compensation either at knee, or at other joint levels (hip/ankle), improves
dynamic balance control. This reacquisition allows the knee joint to recover its
corrective compensatory role in postural regulation allowing, through
neuroplasticity, the modification of muscular activation sequences and, thus, the
implementation of anticipatory sensorimotor strategies.
CI - Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS