Measure of risk of fall in severe knee osteoarthritis patients using Techbalance device
NHM Ooka, ALC Pessoa, Guilherme Morgado Runco, MRS Matta, Luís Vicente Franco de Oliveira · Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine · 2024
Objectives Knee Osteoarthritis prevalence increase is due to rise of life expectancy and ageing of the population. Ageing also affects gait and balance leading to increase of fall risk. To track this risk, newer and portable devices using accelerometers and gyroscopes are used in monitoring falls, because postural stability and balance compromise increase risk of falls (RF). The combination of accelerometer and gyroscope in portable devices are defined as Inertial Mobility Unity (IMU). Our study aims to assess RF using an IMU (Techbalance®) in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods Cross-sectional study in 133 eldery patients with knee osteoarthritis. The sample is divided in 2 groups, Group 1: no previous fall in the last year, Group 2: history of fall in the last year. Techbalance assessment of RF generates two scores: TechFragilidade is a clinical evaluation of frailty of the patient. TechEscore consists in 14 tasks to evaluate balance and posture assisted by a smartphone-like device IMU positioned on the girdle of the patient (center of mass). The RF assessment using the Techbalance was compared to both low-risk and high-risk of falls and the statistics analysis were performed with Chi-square, Mann-Whitney, and Spearman tests. Results Mean age was 65 (± 6,3) years. TechEscore and TechFragilidade scores correlate positively to risk of fall ( p<0.05 e <0.01, respectively) and negatively with SF12 physical ( p<0.05). TechFragilidade score (r = 0,313, p < 0,01) has a higher correlation to risk of fall than TechEscore score (r = 0,247, p < 0,01) ( z = 2,004; p < 0,023). Conclusion Our study showed that Techbalance was able to correlate RF in knee osteoarthritis patients combining frailty assessment and balance and postural evaluation using an IMU.