A Comparative Study of Ankle and Foot Characteristics in Knee Osteoarthritis Patients and Normals

AIM:

To compare ankle and foot characteristics of knee osteoarthritis patients with age and gender matched normal.

METHOD:

STUDY DESIGN:

Cross Sectional Study

STUDY SETTING:

Physiotherapy OPD, Pad. Dr. D. Y. Patil Hospital and Research Centre.

PARTICIPANTS:

In total, 60 participants:

• 30 patients with knee osteoarthritis- GROUP 1

• 30 age and gender matched normals- GROUP 2

OUTCOME MEASURES:

Foot posture index (FPI), navicular drop, calcaneal eversion angle, range of motion (ROM) of ankle dorsiflexion and first metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint extension.

RESULTS:

Extremely significant differences in FPI scores, navicular drop, calcaneal eversion angle and ROM of ankle dorsiflexion and 1st MTP extension were seen between both the groups. Patients in group 1 had a pronated foot as compared to group 2 with mean FPI score of 7.03. Mean navicular drop in group 1 was 8.36mm and mean calcaneal angle was 15.53 degrees. Decreased ROM of ankle dorsiflexion and 1st MTP extension were observed in group 1.

CONCLUSION:

Patients with medial knee osteoarthritis have a pronated foot posture with greater navicular drop and calcaneal eversion angle. They also have a decreased ankle dorsiflexion and great toe extension as compared to normals. Thus foot assessment should be considered as an important component in the evaluation of patients with severe knee osteoarthritis. This can have implications for use of orthotics in the management of knee osteoarthritis.