Effects of Retro-walking in Patients With Knee OA

Effects of Retro-walking in Knee OA Along With Conventional Therapy

Osteoarthritis is degenerative joint disease that cause deterioration of the articular cartilage and neighboring tissue and lead to osteophyte formation, weakening of surrounding muscles, ligamentous laxity and inflammation of synovium. Diagnosis can be made based on history and clinical features and risk factors including age, sex, body mass index , absence of whole leg pain, fixed flexion deformity, absence of traumatic event, restricted flexion range of motion, pain in descending stairs, palpable effusion and crepitus. Confirmation is usually based on radiological finding according to Kellgren and Lawrence diagnostic scale . Radio graphic changes of osteoarthritis of the knee are bilateral in 85% of patients .

Knee pain is a major symptom of knee osteoarthritis (OA) that lead to stiffness, and capsular contracture along with muscle spasm. Decreased flexibility of muscles reduces the joint range of motion and thus contributes to increase in the stiffness of the joint lead to physical disability in persons with knee OA.Eighty percent of persons with knee OA experience pain and 25% struggle to perform activities of daily living.) Retro-walking is sometimes referred to as backward walking, has been thought to be used already for several decades in China, Japan and Europe to get a physical workout, improve sport performance, promote balance and also to stay mentally fit .

In fact in Europe, they have races which vary from sprints to the 26.2 miles marathon.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Unilateral Knee OA .
• Kellgren-Lawrence grading (grade 1 and 2)
• Participants fulfilling three out of the six clinical criteria listed by the American College of Rheumatology The criteria are Age >40 years, Morning stiffness lasting <30 mins. Crepitus with active motion, Bony tenderness, Bony enlargement and No warmth to touch and diagnosed to have knee OA
• Pain more than 6 weeks

Exclusion Criteria:

• Trauma or surgery in the last 6 months.
• Hip, knee, and foot deformities.
• Stroke and other neurovascular issues.
• Severe pain (greater than 7 in NPRS)
• Difficulty in walking for 10 min continuously.
• Obesity (body mass index greater than 25 kg/m2 )
• Osteoporosis
• Patients having any systemic joint pathology, inflammatory joint disease (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, gouty arthritis, psoriatic arthritis).
• Patients who had any neurological deficit, myelopathy any mental illness.