The influence of a flexible shoe in the gait kinematics of individuals with knee osteoarthritis

• Grant number: 08/03335-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2008
• End date: September 30, 2009
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Isabel de Camargo Neves Sacco
• Grantee: Aline Ayako Kimura
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent chronic degenerative disease among people with more than 65 years old and one of the most frequent causes for pain in the musculoskeletal system and for work incapacity in Brazil and in the world. Knee is the second joint more affected for the disease, due to the constant loading and motion that is submitted. Due to the large impact that the knee OA have over one of the most commons activities of day living inherent on human - gait - there is a necessity to minimize the effects caused by the disease. It is know that the progression of the disease occurs because of the high joint loads in the knee and that this is associated with an altered lower limbs kinematics. There are evidences on the literature that the barefoot gait reduces this loads at the knee joint, however walking barefoot would not be an adequate and/or a comfortable motor task. Therefore, a use of shoes that better reproduce kinematics of barefoot gait would give rise to satisfactory results to minimize joint loads and consequently the progression of the disease. So, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence of a flexible and unproved of heel footwear and of OA in bidimensional kinematics of lower limbs during gait. It will be evaluated gait of 30 subjects (15 subjects with degree 2 or 3 of OA and 15 asymptomatic subjects in a control group) in barefoot condition, wearing a flexible and unproved of heel footwear and a sport shoe. An initial evaluation will be carried out to investigate the aspects related to the OA and a kinematic analysis by means of digital cameras to capture angular displacements of hip, knee and ankle joint, its derivatives (velocities and accelerations), as well as spatial-temporal gait parameters. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

TROMBINI-SOUZA, FRANCIS; KIMURA, ALINE; RIBEIRO, ANA PAULA; BUTUGAN, MARCO; AKASHI, PAULA; PASSARO, ANICE C.; ARNONE, ANTONIO C.; SACCO, ISABEL C. N.. Inexpensive footwear decreases joint loading in elderly women with knee osteoarthritis. GAIT & POSTURE, v. 34, n. 1, p. 126-130, MAY 2011. (08/03335-5)