scholarly journals Developments in Smart Multi-Function Gait Assistive Devices for the Prevention and Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis—A Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (22) ◽  
pp. 10947
Author(s):  
Hanatsu Nagano ◽  
William Sparrow ◽  
Rezaul Begg

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative condition that critically affects locomotor ability and quality of life and, the condition is particularly prevalent in the senior population. The current review presents a gait biomechanics conceptual framework for designing active knee orthoses to prevent and remediate knee OA. Constant excessive loading diminishes knee joint articular cartilage and, therefore, measures to reduce kinetic stresses due to the fact of adduction moments and joint compression are an essential target for OA prevention. A powered orthosis enables torque generation to support knee joint motions and machine-learning-driven “smart systems” can optimise the magnitude and timing of joint actuator forces. Although further research is required, recent findings raise the possibility of exoskeleton-supported, non-surgical OA interventions, increasing the treatment options for this prevalent, painful and seriously debilitating disease. Combined with advances in regenerative medicine, such as stem cell implantation and manipulation of messenger ribonucleic acid (m-RNA) transcription, active knee orthoses can be designed to incorporate electro-magnetic stimulators to promote articular cartilage resynthesis.

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 213-218
Author(s):  
Charlie A. Hicks-Little ◽  
Richard D. Peindl ◽  
Tricia J. Hubbard-Turner ◽  
Mitchell L. Cordova

Context:Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating disease that affects an estimated 27 million Americans. Changes in lowerextremity alignment and joint laxity have been found to redistribute the medial and/or lateral loads at the joint. However, the effect that changes in anteroposterior knee-joint laxity have on lower-extremity alignment and function in individuals with knee OA remains unclear.Objective:To examine anteroposterior knee-joint laxity, lower-extremity alignment, and subjective pain, stiffness, and function scores in individuals with early-stage knee OA and matched controls and to determine if a relationship exists among these measures.Design:Case control.Setting:Sports-medicine research laboratory.Participants:18 participants with knee OA and 18 healthy matched controls.Intervention:Participants completed the Western Ontario McMaster (WOMAC) osteoarthritis questionnaire and were tested for total anteroposterior knee-joint laxity (A-P) and knee-joint alignment (ALIGN).Main Outcome Measures:WOMAC scores, A-P (mm), and ALIGN (°).Results:A significant multivariate main effect for group (Wilks’ Λ = 0.30, F7,26 = 8.58, P < .0001) was found. Knee-OA participants differed in WOMAC scores (P < .0001) but did not differ from healthy controls on ALIGN (P = .49) or total A-P (P = .66). No significant relationships were identified among main outcome measures.Conclusion:These data demonstrate that participants with early-stage knee OA had worse pain, stiffness, and functional outcome scores than the matched controls; however, ALIGN and A-P were no different. There was no association identified among participants’ subjective scores, ALIGN, or A-P measures in this study.


Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 854
Author(s):  
Dragan Primorac ◽  
Vilim Molnar ◽  
Eduard Rod ◽  
Željko Jeleč ◽  
Fabijan Čukelj ◽  
...  

Being the most common musculoskeletal progressive condition, osteoarthritis is an interesting target for research. It is estimated that the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis (OA) among adults 60 years of age or older is approximately 10% in men and 13% in women, making knee OA one of the leading causes of disability in elderly population. Today, we know that osteoarthritis is not a disease characterized by loss of cartilage due to mechanical loading only, but a condition that affects all of the tissues in the joint, causing detectable changes in tissue architecture, its metabolism and function. All of these changes are mediated by a complex and not yet fully researched interplay of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, growth factors and adipokines, all of which can be measured in the serum, synovium and histological samples, potentially serving as biomarkers of disease stage and progression. Another key aspect of disease progression is the epigenome that regulates all the genetic expression through DNA methylation, histone modifications, and mRNA interference. A lot of work has been put into developing non-surgical treatment options to slow down the natural course of osteoarthritis to postpone, or maybe even replace extensive surgeries such as total knee arthroplasty. At the moment, biological treatments such as platelet-rich plasma, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and autologous microfragmented adipose tissue containing stromal vascular fraction are ordinarily used. Furthermore, the latter two mentioned cell-based treatment options seem to be the only methods so far that increase the quality of cartilage in osteoarthritis patients. Yet, in the future, gene therapy could potentially become an option for orthopedic patients. In the following review, we summarized all of the latest and most important research in basic sciences, pathogenesis, and non-operative treatment.


2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 872-874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhe Zhao ◽  
Enqi Li ◽  
Qing Cao ◽  
Jie Sun ◽  
Baotong Ma

Endothelin-1, a potent vasoconstrictor regulator, contributes to articular cartilage destruction. Therefore, we aim to assess the correlation of endothelin-1 concentrations with the development and severity of knee osteoarthritis (OA). This study included a population of 209 patients with knee OA. Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grading was utilized to score the severity of OA. The case group had higher serum endothelin-1 concentrations than controls. Patients with knee OA with a relatively higher grade showed significantly elevated serum and synovial fluid (SF) endothelin-1 concentrations compared with those with lower KL grades. A significant correlation was found between serum and SF endothelin-1 concentrations and KL grades. Serum and SF endothelin-1 concentrations are correlated with the development and progression of knee OA.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Podlipská ◽  
Ali Guermazi ◽  
Petri Lehenkari ◽  
Jaakko Niinimäki ◽  
Frank W. Roemer ◽  
...  

Abstract Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative musculoskeletal disease highly prevalent in aging societies worldwide. Traditionally, knee OA is diagnosed using conventional radiography. However, structural changes of articular cartilage or menisci cannot be directly evaluated using this method. On the other hand, ultrasound is a promising tool able to provide direct information on soft tissue degeneration. The aim of our study was to systematically determine the site-specific diagnostic performance of semi-quantitative ultrasound grading of knee femoral articular cartilage, osteophytes and meniscal extrusion, and of radiographic assessment of joint space narrowing and osteophytes, using MRI as a reference standard. Eighty asymptomatic and 79 symptomatic subjects with mean age of 57.7 years were included in the study. Ultrasound performed best in the assessment of femoral medial and lateral osteophytes, and medial meniscal extrusion. In comparison to radiography, ultrasound performed better or at least equally well in identification of tibio-femoral osteophytes, medial meniscal extrusion and medial femoral cartilage morphological degeneration. Ultrasound provides relevant additional diagnostic information on tissue-specific morphological changes not depicted by conventional radiography. Consequently, the use of ultrasound as a complementary imaging tool along with radiography may enable more accurate and cost-effective diagnostics of knee osteoarthritis at the primary healthcare level.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea Ettlin ◽  
Irina Nast ◽  
Erika O. Huber ◽  
Karin Niedermann

Introduction: The International Guidelines recommend exercise, education and weight management (if appropriate) as the first-line conservative treatment for patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) to enhance their self-management. The aim of this study was to investigate the current state of conservative non-pharmacological management of patients with knee OA in Switzerland and to explore the perceived barriers and facilitators to the application of the guideline recommendations.Materials and methods: Eleven semi-structured interviews with selected general practitioners (GPs), rheumatologists and orthopaedic surgeons were performed. Based on these results, an online survey was developed and sent to the members of three scientific medical societies. Questions addressed the frequency of diagnostic measures, treatment options, reasons for referral to exercise and also barriers and facilitators.Results: A total of 234 members responded. They indicated that patients normally present due to pain (n = 222, 98.2%) and functional limitations of the knee (n = 151, 66.8%). In addition to clinical assessment, X-ray (n = 214, 95.5%) and MRI (n = 70, 31.3%) were the most frequently used diagnostic measures. Treatment options usually involved patient education for diagnosis (n = 223, 98.6%) and suitable activities (n = 217, 96%), pharmacological treatment (n = 203, 89.8%) and referral to physiotherapy (n = 188, 83.2%). The participants estimated that they had referred 54% of their patients with knee OA for a specific exercise. The referral to exercise was driven by “patient expectation/high level of suffering” (n = 73, 37.1%) and their “own clinical experience” (n = 49, 24.9%). The specialists rated the most important barriers to referral to exercise as “disinterest of patient” (n = 88, 46.3%) and “physically active patient” (n = 59, 31.1%). As the most important facilitators, they rated “importance to mention exercise despite the short time of consultation” (n = 170, 89.4%) and “insufficiently physically active patient” (n = 165, 86.9%).Discussion: A substantial evidence–performance gap in the management of patients with knee OA appears to exist in Switzerland. For the systematic referral to exercise as the first-line intervention, it might be useful for medical doctors to suggest a structured exercise programme to patients with knee OA, rather than just advising general exercise.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuang Zheng ◽  
Liudan Tu ◽  
Flavia Cicuttini ◽  
Zhaohua Zhu ◽  
Weiyu Han ◽  
...  

Abstract Background:To describe demographic and clinical factors associated with the prevalence and incidence of depression and explore the temporal relationship between depression and joint symptoms in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods:413 participants were selected from a randomized controlled trial in people with symptomatic knee OA and vitamin D deficiency (age 63.2 ± 7.0 year, 50.4% female). Depression severity and knee joint symptoms were assessed using the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), respectively, at baseline and 24 months. Results: The prevalence and incidence of depression was 25.4% and 11.2%, respectively. At baseline, having younger age, a higher body mass index (BMI), greater scores of WOMAC pain (PR: 1.05, 95%CI:1.03, 1.07), dysfunction (PR: 1.02, 95%CI:1.01, 1.02) and stiffness (PR: 1.05, 95%CI: 1.02, 1.09), lower education level, having more than one comorbidity and having two or more painful body sites were significantly associated with a higher prevalence of depression. Over 24 months, being female, having a higher WOMAC pain (RR: 1.05, 95%CI: 1.02, 1.09) and dysfunction score (RR: 1.02, 95%CI: 1.01, 1.03) at baseline and having two or more painful sites were significantly associated with a higher incidence of depression. In contrast, baseline depression was not associated with changes in knee joint symptoms over 24 months. Conclusion: Knee OA risk factors and joint symptoms, along with co-existing multi-site pain are associated with the prevalence and development of depression. This suggests that managing common OA risk factors and joint symptoms may be important for prevention and treatment depression in patients with knee OA.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01176344Anzctr.org.au identifier: ACTRN12610000495022


Author(s):  
SAMWON YOON ◽  
YOUNGJOO CHA ◽  
HYUNSIK YOON ◽  
KYOUNGTAE KIM ◽  
ILBONG PARK ◽  
...  

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative articular disease. The knee joint space width (JSW) is used for grading the severity of knee OA. However, there is a lack of research on differences in the widths of knee joints between both lower limbs in unilateral OA. The purpose of this research was to examine the radiological difference in the affected knee joint and contralateral knee joint by analyzing unilateral older adults with medial knee OA using both knees’ JSW differences. Twenty-five subjects with unilateral medial knee OA participated. X-ray radiographs were used to assess knee JSW, and the paired [Formula: see text]-test was performed to assess the knee joint gap width between the affected side and the unaffected side in the respective medial and lateral sides. The independent [Formula: see text]-test compared the differences between the lateral and medial knee JSWs on the affected side and unaffected side. The paired [Formula: see text]-test did not show a significant difference in the medial and lateral knee JSW on the affected side compared to the unaffected side ([Formula: see text]; 0.11). Meanwhile, the independent [Formula: see text]-test revealed a significant difference between the affected and unaffected sides ([Formula: see text]). This study showed no significant changes in affected knee JSWs compared to unaffected sides, but the difference between the lateral and medial JSWs was significant between the knees affected and unaffected by OA in the older adults with medial knee OA.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuang Zheng ◽  
Liudan Tu ◽  
Flavia Cicuttini ◽  
Zhaohua Zhu ◽  
Weiyu Han ◽  
...  

Abstract Background To describe demographic and clinical factors associated with the presence and incidence of depression and explore the temporal relationship between depression and joint symptoms in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods Three hundred ninety-seven participants were selected from a randomized controlled trial in people with symptomatic knee OA and vitamin D deficiency (age 63.3 ± 7.1 year, 48.6% female). Depression severity and knee joint symptoms were assessed using the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), respectively, at baseline and 24 months. Results The presence and incidence of depression was 25.4 and 11.2%, respectively. At baseline, having younger age, a higher body mass index (BMI), greater scores of WOMAC pain (PR: 1.05, 95%CI:1.03, 1.07), dysfunction (PR: 1.02, 95%CI:1.01, 1.02) and stiffness (PR: 1.05, 95%CI: 1.02, 1.09), lower education level, having more than one comorbidity and having two or more painful body sites were significantly associated with a higher presence of depression. Over 24 months, being female, having a higher WOMAC pain (RR: 1.05, 95%CI: 1.02, 1.09) and dysfunction score (RR: 1.02, 95%CI: 1.01, 1.03) at baseline and having two or more painful sites were significantly associated with a higher incidence of depression. In contrast, baseline depression was not associated with changes in knee joint symptoms over 24 months. Conclusion Knee OA risk factors and joint symptoms, along with co-existing multi-site pain are associated with the presence and development of depression. This suggests that managing common OA risk factors and joint symptoms may be important for prevention and treatment depression in patients with knee OA. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01176344. Anzctr.org.au identifier: ACTRN12610000495022.


Author(s):  
Archana V ◽  
S Thara Lakshmi

Knee OA is a chronic disease that affects the entire joint, including the articular cartilage, meniscus, ligament, and peri-articular muscle, and can be caused by a variety of pathophysiological causes. Lakshmi vilasa rasa (LVR) is a Khalviya Rasayana mentioned in the Visha upavishadi Vijnaneeya Taranga of Rasa Tarangini indicated for Roga durbala deha, Krsa, Dehapushti, Vahnimandya. Bala guluchyaadi kashaya (BGK), is mentioned in Chikilsamanjari's Vatarakta prakarana. This work explores a case study on the combined effect of these two drugs in pain of knee osteoarthritis. Assessment was done before and after treatment with the help of VAS scale and WOMAC scale CRD version. The results showed that Lakshmi vilasa rasa with Bala guluchyaadi kashaya was effective in relieving pain, stiffness and improving the physical function


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