Maximal daily stepping cadence partially explains functional capacity of individuals with end-stage knee osteoarthritis.
Rashelle M Hoffman, Hope C Davis-Wilson, Shawn Hanlon and 5 others
PMID 37819260WHAT IT FOUND
Veterans with severe knee osteoarthritis spent only 3.6 minutes a day walking briskly.
This low volume of brisk walking, along with older age and higher pain, partially explained their reduced ability to walk for six minutes. Pain did not change how strongly brisk walking related to this capacity.
Key findings
01The sample spent an average of 3.6 minutes per day stepping at a medium-to-brisk cadence (≥80 steps per minute).
02In the final model, time spent stepping at medium-to-brisk cadence, older age, and higher pain scores together explained 24% of the variance in 6-Minute Walk Test distance.
03Pain did not moderate the relationship between medium-to-brisk stepping cadence and 6-Minute Walk Test distance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, meaning it identifies associations but cannot prove that brisk walking causes better function. The participants were all scheduled for knee replacement within a month, so they may have more severe symptoms than the general osteoarthritis population. Pain was measured as a general self-report (WOMAC) rather than pain experienced during the actual walking test, which might have missed a more immediate impact of pain on performance. The model only explained 24% of the variance in walking distance, meaning many other unmeasured factors also influence functional capacity.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the NIH and the US Government (non-PHS). No specific commercial conflicts of interest are listed in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that increasing brisk walking will improve function. This was a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data, so it shows an association between brisk walking and current capacity, not a cause-and-effect relationship from an intervention.