Citation

Kim HJ, Han CD, Moon SH, Chun HJ, Kang KT, Kim HS, Park JO, Moon ES, Kim BR, Sohn JS, Shin SY, Lee HM. Spine 2011; 36(9): E588-92.

Affiliation

Spine and arthroplasty center, Yonse sarang Hospital, Seoul, Korea; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/BRS.0b013e3181f92d8e

PMID

21242866

Abstract

Study design. A prospective case control study. Objectives: To investigate the risk of a fall using functional mobility tests in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) via a comparison with patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Summary of Background Data: LSS is a degenerative arthritic disease in the spine that results in decreasing function, impaired balance and gait deficit with increased levels of leg and back pain. This physical impairment might result in an increased risk of fall later in the disease process as shown in knee osteoarthritis. However, there has been no study regarding the association between the risk of a fall and LSS. Methods: The study was an age- and weight-matched case control study consisting of two groups, one group consisting of 40 patients with LSS who were scheduled to undergo spine surgery (LSS group), the other group consisting of 40 patients with advanced OA in both knees, scheduled to undergo TKA on both knees (KOA group). For both groups, four functional mobility tests such as a six meter walk test (SMT), sit-to-stand test (STS), alternative step test (AST), and timed up and go test (TUGT) were performed. Results: There was no difference in demographic data between both groups except for BMI. For the SMT and STS, the patients in the LSS spent significantly more time performing these tests than the patients in the KOA. For the AST, however, patients in the KOA group presented a statistically worse performance in functional mobility, compared to the LSS group. The mean TUGT time was not statistically different between the two groups. Conclusions: The current study highlights that patients with symptomatic LSS have a comparable risk of a fall to patients who had degenerative KOA based on the results of functional mobility tests (SMT, STS, AST, and TUGT).

Language: en