Gait Speed and Knee Flexo-Extension Strength in Patients with Arthritis

Knee arthritis is a highly prevalent disease in women over 60 years of age, characterized by symptoms and signs that decrease the quality of life. The objective was to determine whether quadriceps and hamstrings muscular strength affects walking speed in Volunteers with Knee Arthritis (VKA) compared to Healthy Volunteers (HV). Twenty-four volunteers were studied, 10 symptomatic unilateral primary knee arthritis VKA and 14 HV. A motion analysis system was used to register gait. Muscle strength was measured with an original instrument “DINABANG”. Age-matched VKA group (0.93 ± 0.26 m/s) walked slower than the HV control group (1.2 ± 0.13 m/s). Maximum isometric flexor and extensor strength was smaller in VKA with respect to HV. The main finding is that the bilateral quadriceps strength asymmetry of VKA (25.0%) was greater (p < 0.05) than HV (9.4%), and VKA hamstrings asymmetry (36.0%) much higher (p < 0.05) than HV (14.0%). Within the VKA group, the median value for pain was 6 for the knee with arthritis and 3 for the contralateral Knee (p < 0.05). It is concluded that asymmetry of strength rather than hamstrings and quadriceps ratio (H/Q) is a useful indicator to monitor rehabilitation in arthritis patients.