Test Methods to Detect Hip and Knee Muscle Weakness and Gait Disturbance in Patients With Hip Osteoarthritis
By Rasch, Anton, MD; Dalen, Nils, MD, PhD; Berg, Hans E., MD, PhD; Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vol. 86, No. 12, pp. 2371-2376Publication Date: December 2005
Study conducted to evaluate testing methods for hip and knee muscle weakness and gait disturbance. Ten people who were nondisabled and eleven people with unilateral hip osteoarthritis were tested for muscle strength using a dynamometer developed for measuring muscles acting about the hip and knee joints, while gait was evaluated via custom optosensor walkway. The optosensor walkway is a flat walkway with two separate lanes instrumented with photocells to assess right and left foot contact times. The authors found that the dynamometer system provides reliable measurement of hip and knee muscle strength, while variation is comparable to previous data. The methods employed were found to be efficient and easy to use.
Published by: W.B. Saunders Company, a division of Elsevier Health Sciences (Website:http://us.elsevierhealth.com)
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Web Site: http://www.aapmr.org/ )
American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (Web Site: http://www.acrm.org )
