Abstract
Objective
To examine the acute effects of aquatic and land treadmill exercise on gait kinematics
as well as the level of disease-specific and movement-related pain for individuals
with osteoarthritis.
Design
Quasi-experimental crossover design.
Setting
Biomechanics laboratory.
Participants
Participants (N=14; age, 43–64y) diagnosed with osteoarthritis at the knee (n=12),
osteoarthritis at the knee and ankle (n=1), or osteoarthritis at the knee and hip
(n=1).
Interventions
Participants performed 3 exercise sessions separated by at least 24 hours in 1 week
for each mode of exercise (aquatic treadmill and land treadmill).
Main Outcome Measures
Gait kinematics and pain were measured before and after each intervention.
Results
The angular velocity gain score during stance for left knee extension was improved
by 38% after aquatic treadmill exercise (P=.004). Similarly, during swing, the gain scores for angular velocity were also greater
for left knee internal rotation and extension by 65% and 20%, respectively (P=.004, P=.008, respectively). During stance, the joint angle gain score for left hip flexion
was 7.23% greater after land exercise (P=.007). During swing, the angular velocity gain score for right hip extension was
significantly greater for aquatic exercise by 28% (P=.01). Only the joint angle gain score for left ankle abduction during stance was
significantly higher after land exercise (4.72%, P=.003). No other joint angle gain scores for either stance or swing were significantly
different for either condition (P=.06–.96). Perceived pain was 100% greater after land than aquatic treadmill exercise
(P=.02). Step rate and step length were not different between conditions (P=.31–.92).
Conclusions
An acute training period on an aquatic treadmill positively influenced joint angular
velocity and arthritis-related joint pain. Acute aquatic treadmill exercise may be
useful as a conservative treatment to improve angular speed of the lower-extremity
joints and pain related to osteoarthritis.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 05, 2012
Footnotes
Supported by the National Swimming Pool Foundation.
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
