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Updated: Aug 6, 2025
The Lower Body Positive Pressure Treadmill for Knee Osteoarthritis Rehabilitation
Published on: July 22, 2019
Tactile acuity and left/right judgment performance in patients with knee osteoarthritis: A cross-sectional study
Sinem Özgül1, Özgül Öztürk2, Arif Gülkesen3
1Fırat University Faculty of Medical Sciences, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Elazığ, Turkey; Okan University Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, İstanbul, Turkey.
Background:
Left/right judgment task (LRJT) performance and tactile acuity are impaired in chronic pain conditions, however, evidence is limited for knee osteoarthritis (OA).
Objective:
To compare LRJT performance and the two-point discrimination threshold (TPDT) of chronic knee OA patients with asymptomatic knee and pain-free controls.
Design:
Cross-sectional study.
Methods:
Fifty knee OA patients and 50 age and gender-matched pain-free controls were assessed using the Recognize® application by displaying knee images and a digital caliper for the TPDT of the medial and lateral knee joint line.
Results:
TPDTs over the lateral joint line in symptomatic (mean difference [MD]: 13.59 mm; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.72, 18.46; d = 1.40) and asymptomatic knee (MD: 10.15 mm; 95% CI: 5.08, 15.22; d = 0.99) were significantly increased compared to pain-free controls. Similarly, TPDTs of the medial joint line were significantly increased in symptomatic (MD: 12.19 mm; 95% CI: 7.59, 16.79; d = 1.31) and asymptomatic knee (MD: 7.64 mm; 95% CI: 3.64, 11.64; d = 1.31) compared to pain-free controls. Patients with knee OA were less accurate (MD: 7.80%; 95% CI: 15.32, -0.27; d = 0.52) recognizing images of their symptomatic knee. No correlation was found between pain severity, pain duration, LRJT performance, and TPDTs. Post-hoc analysis revealed no differences in LRJT and TPDTs between patients with and without clinically relevant symptoms of central sensitization.
Conclusion:
Chronic knee OA is associated with increased TPDT for medial and lateral knee joint lines and decreased recognition accuracy performance which should be considered during treatment process.
