BACKGROUND: Instability of the knee joint during gait is frequently reported by patients with knee osteoarthritis or an anterior cruciate ligament rupture. The assessment of instability in clinical practice and clinical research studies mainly relies on self-reporting. Alternatively, parameters measured with gait analysis have been explored as suitable objective indicators of dynamic knee (in)stability.RESEARCH QUESTION: This literature review aimed to establish an inventory of objective parameters of knee stability during gait.METHODS: Five electronic databases (Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane, Cinahl and SPORTDiscuss) were systematically searched, with keywords concerning knee, stability and gait. Eligible studies used an objective parameter(s) to assess knee (in)stability during gait, being stated in the introduction or methods section. Out of 10717 studies, 89 studies were considered eligible.RESULTS: Fourteen different patient populations were investigated with kinematic, kinetic and/or electromyography measurements during (challenged) gait. Thirty-three possible objective parameters were identified for knee stability, of which the majority was based on kinematic (14 parameters) or electromyography (12 parameters) measurements. Thirty-nine studies used challenged gait (i.e. external perturbations, downhill walking) to provoke knee joint instability. Limited or conflicting results were reported on the validity of the 33 parameters.SIGNIFICANCE: In conclusion, a large number of different candidates for an objective knee stability gait parameter were found in literature, all without compelling evidence. A clear conceptual definition for dynamic knee joint stability is lacking, for which we suggest : "The capacity to respond to a challenge during gait within the natural boundaries of the knee". Furthermore biomechanical gait laboratory protocols should be harmonized, to enable future developments on clinically relevant measure(s) of knee stability during gait.
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Objective: To systematically describe changes in pain and functioning in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) awaiting total joint replacement (TJR), and to assess determinants of this change. Methods: MEDLINE®, EMBASE, CINAHL® and Cochrane Database were searched through June 2008. The reference lists of eligible publications were reviewed. Studies that monitored pain and functioning in patients with hip or knee OA during the waiting list for TJR were analyzed. Data were collected with a pre-specified collection tool. Methodological quality was assessed and a best-evidence analysis was performed to summarize results. Results: Fifteen studies, of which two were of high quality, were included and involved 788 hip and 858 knee patients (mean age 59-72 and main wait 42-399 days). There was strong evidence that pain (in hip and knee OA) and self-reported functioning (in hip OA) do not deteriorate during a
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