A 6-week biofeedback gait retraining programme in people with knee OA

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    A 6-week knee moment and gait pattern biofeedback gait retraining programme in people with knee osteoarthritis and its translation in daily life

  • IRAS ID

    305860

  • Contact name

    James Bilzon

  • Contact email

    jb438@bath.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of Bath

  • ISRCTN Number

    ISRCTN28045513

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 4 months, 1 days

  • Research summary

    Gait retraining has been used as an effective, non-invasive strategy to slow down the progression of knee osteoarthritis (OA) by reducing the magnitude of knee loading. It can be achieved by modifying gait patterns such as foot progression angle (FPA), step width and step length. Biofeedback is a method which transforms intrinsic physiological signals into a form that can be understood by the participant. It has been used as a common way to enhance the gait performance by providing immediate and accurate feedback of information about body functions. However, it is unknown which types of biofeedback are more effective, as well as its translative benefits in other daily activities. Therefore, this study aims to assess the efficacy of a six-week biofeedback gait retraining protocol, to evaluate and compare the acute (6 weeks) and chronic (1 month) effects of biofeedback based on knee moment or gait pattern to reduce knee loading and pain in people with knee OA. This is a parallel group, randomised controlled trial, in which participants will be randomised into knee moment biofeedback group, gait pattern biofeedback group and control group. Supervised training sessions will be conducted once a week for six continuous weeks, with real-time biofeedback produced using marker-based motion capture and an instrumented treadmill. Participants in the biofeedback groups will be encouraged to maintain the altered gait pattern outside of the laboratory. Baseline, post-intervention and one month follow-up assessments will be performed to measure knee loading, muscle activation, gait parameters, knee pain level and functional ability. The results of this study will identify the optimal gait alterations for participants’ gait retraining, and compare the effectiveness of knee moment and gait pattern biofeedback for gait retraining. In addition, this study will explore how muscle coordination strategies are altered during the gait retraining programme.

  • REC name

    South West - Central Bristol Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    22/SW/0063

  • Date of REC Opinion

    15 Jun 2022

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion