ORIGINAL ARTICLES   Free access

European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine 2012 December;48(4):569-75

Copyright © 2012 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Does choice of angular velocity affect pain level during isokinetic strength testing of knee osteoarthritis patients?

Almosnino S. ^{1, 2}, Brandon S. C. E. ^{2, 3}, Sled E. A. ⁴ ✉

¹ School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada; ² Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada; ³ Human Mobility Research Centre, Syl and Molly Apps Medical Research Centre, Kingston General Hospital and Queen’s University Kingston, ON, Canada; ⁴ School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

BACKGROUND: Thigh musculature strength assessment in individuals with knee osteoarthritis is routinely performed in rehabilitative settings. A factor that may influence results is pain experienced during testing.
AIM: To assess whether pain experienced during isokinetic testing in individuals with knee osteoarthritis is dependent on the angular velocity prescribed.
DESIGN: Experimental, repeated measures.
SETTING: University laboratory.
POPULATION: Thirty-five individuals (19 women, 16 men) with tibiofemoral osteoarthritis.
METHODS: Participants performed three randomized sets of five maximal concentric extension-flexion repetitions at 60°/s, 90°/s and 120°/s. Pain intensity was measured immediately after the completion of each set. Strength outcomes for each set were the average peak moment.
RESULTS: Across gender, pain level was not significantly affected by testing velocity (P=0.18, ηp2 =0.05). There was a trend of women reporting more pain than men across all testing velocities, however this comparison did not reach statistical significance (P=0.18, ηp2=0.05). There was a significant main effect of testing velocity on strength, with the highest level attained at 60°/s. However, no difference in strength was noted when testing was performed at 90°/s or 120°/s.
CONCLUSION: A large variation in pain scores within and across conditions and gender was noted, suggesting that at the current stage: 1) isokinetic angular velocity prescription be performed on an individual patient basis; and 2) improvements in the manner pain is recorded are needed in order to reduce the variations in pain scores.
CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: Individual prescription of angular velocity may be necessary for optimal strength output and reduction of pain during effort exertion in this patient population.