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Tests for physical function of the elderly with knee and hip osteoarthritis
Author(s) -
Lin YC.,
Davey R. C.,
Cochrane T.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-0838.2001.110505.x
Subject(s) - medicine , physical therapy , womac , osteoarthritis , isometric exercise , quartile , physical medicine and rehabilitation , stairs , cronbach's alpha , timed up and go test , psychometrics , confidence interval , balance (ability) , clinical psychology , civil engineering , alternative medicine , pathology , engineering
This study reports the results of a battery of physical function tests used to assess physical function of older patients with clinical knee and/or hip osteoarthritis (OA), and the correlation to the WOMAC Index (disease‐specific questionnaire). A total of 106 sedentary subjects, aged >60 years (mean 69.4, S.D. 5.9) with hip and/or knee OA (mean 12.2 yrs, S.D. 11.0) participated in the study. Mobility, joint flexibility and muscle strength were evaluated by recording time to: walk a distance of 8′, ascend/descend 4 stairs, rise from/sit down from a chair (5 times). Hip/knee flexion and isometric quadriceps strength were also measured. Categories of performance were formed by dividing data into quartiles for each test (1=highest, 4=lowest score, 5=unable to complete) and, by summing the category scores, a total summary score (TSS) was obtained. The battery of physical function tests showed an acceptable test–retest reliability (ICC of all tasks ≥0.80) and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha ≥0.80). Performance scores on walking, stair climb, chair‐rise and ROM of affected OA joints were significantly correlated with each other, and with the WOMAC Index ( P <0.05, Spearman's correlation). Lower scores on the TSS were associated with lower scores on all the WOMAC Index items ( P <0.001). This study shows that a simple battery of physical function tests in combination with the WOMAC Index are reliable and may be useful outcome measures in the evaluation of therapeutic interventions and geriatric rehabilitation.