EFFECT OF AGE AND OSTEOARTHRITIS ON KNEE PROPRIOCEPTION

Objective. To test the hypotheses that 1) knee position sense declines with age; 2) patients with osteoarthritis (OA) have worse knee positi on sense than elderly controls; and 3) knee position sense is correlat ed with functional status. Methods. The threshold for detection of kne e joint displacement was measured in 30 patients with bilateral knee O A (Kellgren/Lawrence grade greater than or equal to 2 in both knees), 29 elderly controls (who met clinical and radiographic criteria for ex clusion of GA), and 25,young controls, Range of motion, laxity, radiog raphic severity, and functional status were also assessed. Results. A moderate correlation was found between joint displacement detection th reshold and age (r = 0.598 and r = 0.501 for the right knee and the le ft knee, respectively), The threshold was substantially and significan tly different between the OA patients and the elderly controls, Propri oceptive impairment was associated with worse disease-specific functio nal status. Conclusion. Proprioception declines with age, and is furth er impaired in elderly patients with knee OA. Poor proprioception mag contribute to functional impairment in knee OA.