CHANGES IN ANKLE PROPRIOCEPTION WITH SEVERITY OF OSTEOARTHRITIS OF KNEE.

Background: Ankle proprioception may be affected in knee Osteoarthritis (OA), but there is a lack of evidence showing changes in ankle proprioception within the grades of severity of knee OA. Objective: To assess ankle proprioception in patients with knee OA and find its change within the grades of severity of knee OA knee based on the Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) classification. A secondary aim was to see the association between ankle proprioception and functional status. Methodology: It was a cross-sectional study. Sixty-three patients with knee OA were included in the study. X-rays of the patients were interpreted according to KL classification system to grade the severity of knee OA by an experienced orthopedic surgeon. Ankle joint reposition sense (reposition error) was measured using the active to active method with the Saunders digital inclinometer. The assessor was blinded to the grades of the knee OA. The functional status was evaluated using the WOMAC scale. Results: The mean joint reposition error was 2.68 ± 1.80 (0.33-8.33), and WOMAC scores were 45.99 ± 11.67 (30.2–84.37). The WOMAC scores were significant (p = 0.005) but not the joint reposition error (p = 0.14) with the increasing severity of knee OA. When compared within the grades of severity, both were not significant. The correlation between WOMAC scores and joint reposition error scores was r = 0.16 and p = 0.22. Conclusion: The joint reposition error did not vary with the severity of knee OA within the grades. It was also not found to be associated with the functional status of knee ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR