Chen Hong-Xin, Zhan Yao-Xuan, Ou Hai-Ning, You Yao-Yao, Li Wan-Ying, Jiang Shan-Shan, Zheng Mei-Feng, Zhang Lin-Zi, Chen Ke, Chen Qiu-Xia
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510700, Guangdong Province, China.
Department of General Medicine, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510700, Guangdong Province, China.
World J Clin Cases. 2021 Dec 6;9(34):10604-10615. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i34.10604.
Knee joint pain and stiffness are the two main symptoms of knee osteoarthritis (OA) and thus restrict a patient's activities, such as walking and walking up and downstairs. The lower body positive pressure (LBPP) treadmill as one of the emerging body weight support system devices brings new hope for exercise-related rehabilitation for knee OA patients.
To investigate the biomechanical effects and the subjective clinical assessment of LBPP treadmill walking exercise when compared with conventional therapy in mild to moderate knee OA patients.
Eighteen patients with mild-to-moderate knee OA were recruited in this randomized controlled trial (RCT) study. The eligible knee OA patients were randomly assigned to two groups: LBPP and control groups. The patients in the LBPP group performed an LBPP walking training program for 30 min/session per day, 6 d per week for 2 wk whereas the patients in the control group performed walking on the ground for the same amount. All patients underwent clinical assessments and three-dimensional gait analysis at pre- and 2-wk post-treatment.
The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index and visual analog scale scores in both the LBPP group and control group were found to decrease significantly at the post-treatment point than the pre-treatment point (LBPP: 70.25 ± 13.93 40.50 ± 11.86; 3.88 ± 0.99 1.63 ± 0.52; control: 69.20 ± 8.88 48.10 ± 8.67; 3.80 ± 0.79 2.60 ± 0.70, < 0.001). Moreover, compared with the control group, the LBPP group showed more improvements in walking speed ( 0.007), stride length ( = 0.037), and knee range of motion ( = 0.048) during walking, which represented more improvement in walking ability.
The results of our RCT study showed that the LBPP group has a greater effect on improving gait parameters than the conventional group, although there was no significant advantage in clinical assessment. This finding indicates that LBPP treadmill walking training might be an effective approach for alleviating pain symptoms and improving lower extremity locomotion in mild to moderate knee OA patients.
膝关节疼痛和僵硬是膝骨关节炎（OA）的两个主要症状，因此限制了患者的活动，如行走和上下楼梯。下身正压（LBPP）跑步机作为一种新兴的体重支持系统设备，为膝骨关节炎患者的运动相关康复带来了新希望。
研究与传统治疗相比，轻度至中度膝骨关节炎患者进行LBPP跑步机步行锻炼的生物力学效应和主观临床评估。
本随机对照试验（RCT）研究招募了18例轻度至中度膝骨关节炎患者。符合条件的膝骨关节炎患者被随机分为两组：LBPP组和对照组。LBPP组患者每天进行30分钟/次的LBPP步行训练计划，每周6天，共2周；而对照组患者在地面上进行相同时间的步行。所有患者在治疗前和治疗后2周进行临床评估和三维步态分析。
发现LBPP组和对照组的西安大略和麦克马斯特大学关节炎指数以及视觉模拟量表评分在治疗后均较治疗前显著降低（LBPP组：70.25±13.93对40.50±11.86；3.88±0.99对1.63±0.52；对照组：69.20±8.88对48.10±8.67；3.80±0.79对2.60±0.70，P<0.001）。此外，与对照组相比，LBPP组在步行过程中的步行速度（P = 0.007）、步长（P = 0.037）和膝关节活动范围（P = 0.048）有更大改善，这表明步行能力有更大提高。
我们的RCT研究结果表明，尽管在临床评估中没有显著优势，但LBPP组在改善步态参数方面比传统组有更大效果。这一发现表明，LBPP跑步机步行训练可能是缓解轻度至中度膝骨关节炎患者疼痛症状和改善下肢运动的有效方法。
