A dor crônica, o estado emocional e a dupla tarefa não alteram a estabilidade postural em indivíduos com osteoartrite leve e moderada no joelho

Abstract

Background: Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) is a progressive degenerative joint disease and has been associated to neuromuscular control and proprioceptive acuity reduced which may influence the balance control. Poor performance in attention and memory tests has been reported in people with chronic pain-related disability, but it is not known whether KOA individuals may have reduced attention span. Objective: To investigate the effect of surface changes (rigid and soft), vision and attentional demand on postural control, and to verify if chronic pain and emotional state are related to the ability to maintain balance in individuals with mild and moderate KOA. Methods: Thirty individuals with mild and moderate KOA and 15 healthy individuals control were evaluated using physical healthy (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index – WOMAC), and emotional state (Beck Depression Inventory – BDI), Hyperalgesia (pain pressure threshold - PPT) on dermatomes, myotomes and sclerotomes, as well as by visual analogue scale (VAS). The static equilibrium was evaluated through the force platform under different conditions, with somatosensory and visual changes, with and without attention demand. Results: The KOA group had significantly worse scores for BDI, WOMAC, and VAS. The PPT points presented low threshold and were weak to moderately correlational with BDI and WOMAC. The parameters from the center of pressure analyzed were affected by changes in surface, vision and attentional demand for both groups, but there was no effect between groups. Conclusions: The results suggest that chronic pain, emotional state, and dual task do not alter postural stability in individuals with mild and moderate knee osteoarthritis.