The effect of changing condition of walking speed on the knee angle of rats with osteoarthritis.
Chan-Woo Nam, Kyoung Kim, Sang-Su Na
PMID 28878468WHAT IT FOUND
In rats with induced knee osteoarthritis, changing treadmill speed resulted in a higher knee angle after two weeks than same-speed walking, but both groups' angles fell from baseline.
Key findings
01The speed-change group's post-test knee angle was 87.71 ± 1.57 degrees, compared with 85.60 ± 2.67 degrees in the same-speed group, and the between-group difference was significant (p=0.045).
02In the same-speed control group, the knee angle changed from 99.70 ± 2.40 degrees at pre-test to 85.60 ± 2.67 degrees at post-test, with a significant within-group difference (p=0.000).
03In the speed-change experimental group, the knee angle changed from 100.96 ± 1.36 degrees at pre-test to 87.71 ± 1.57 degrees at post-test, with a significant within-group difference (p=0.000).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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 was done in rats, not in people with knee osteoarthritis. Only 20 rats were used. The measured outcome was only the knee angle at initial stance, not pain, function, walking ability, or long-term disease progression. The intervention lasted only two weeks, four days per week, for 30 minutes. The authors note that results in rats may differ from humans and that the outcome was limited to knee angle.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that changing treadmill speed treats knee osteoarthritis in patients. This was a 20-rat study that measured only knee angle at initial stance, not pain, function, or human gait.