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Updated: Jun 11, 2026
Clinical Assessment of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients and Older Adults
Published on: November 7, 2014
Ischemic preconditioning alters gait mechanics in older adults with knee osteoarthritis
Shraddha Shah1, Nikou Nikoumanesh1, Lindsay Slater Hannigan1
1Department of Physical Therapy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.
Background:
Individuals with knee osteoarthritis exhibit altered gait mechanics. While physical activity is recommended as a first-line treatment, few interventions outside of exercise have demonstrated significant gait changes. This study evaluated changes in gait mechanics after a single session of ischemic preconditioning in participants with knee osteoarthritis.
Methods:
Thirty-one participants with knee osteoarthritis over the age of 50 completed gait analysis before and after a single session of ischemic preconditioning(n = 15) or sham(n = 16). The treatment consisted of 5-min of inflation (225 mmHg for IC; 25 mmHg for sham) and 5-min of reperfusion for 50-min. Ankle, knee, hip, and trunk triplanar kinematics, kinetics, and ground reaction forces were analyzed bilaterally. Data were reduced to 0-100% of gait cycle (kinematics) or stance phase (kinetics). Change scores were calculated for each 1% of gait cycle with 90% confidence intervals, and mean differences were calculated for significant differences.
Findings:
After ischemic preconditioning, participants demonstrated reduced knee valgus(2.42 ± 0.11°), knee external rotation(4.29 ± 0.22°), trunk rotation moment (0.02 ± 0.001 Nm/kg), and increased trunk lateral flexion(2.32 ± 0.07°) towards the involved side, and trunk extension moment(0.19 ± 0.005 Nm/kg) in the involved limb compared to sham. Participants demonstrated increased hip external rotation moment(0.06 ± 0.01 Nm/kg) and trunk rotation moment(0.03 ± 0.002 Nm/kg) and reduced vertical ground reaction force(0.25 ± 0.04 N/kg) after ischemic preconditioning in the uninvolved limb compared to sham group.
Interpretation:
A single session of ischemic preconditioning alters gait mechanics acutely in both limbs. Ischemic preconditioning is a novel, passive treatment that can potentially aid in modifying gait in knee osteoarthritis.
