Impact of a retro walking on degenerative osteoarthritis of knee joint

Indrani Gurjalwar, Gouri Kalaskar, Pratik Phansopkar*, Pooja Shah, Neha Chitale, Om C. Wadhokar

Ravi Nair Physiotherapy College, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, Maharashtra, India

ABSTRACT

Osteoarthritis of the knee being of the major causes for disability in older population. Due to sedentary lifestyle this disease is becoming common in younger population as well. About 13% of women and 10% of men aged 60 years and older have symptomatic knee OA. Prevalence of knee OA in men is lower compared with women. As prevalence of the disease still increasing further it is a need of the hour to come up with a highly reliable exercise protocol which will be beneficial for the patients. Retro-walking is new intervention and also easy to practice. It is protected closed chain practice exercise as it decreases the compressive powers at the patellofemoral joint. During Retro-walking quadriceps eccentric capacity is diminished,while the isometric and concentric quadriceps quality is protected. Retro walking programs are known to expand quadriceps quality. Additionally, during retro walking cardiopulmonary interest is higher when contrasted with forward-walking. Henceforth, such advantages make backward walking a protected and viable segment of recovery schedule for patients of knee osteoarthritis. A case of 55 years old male is presented in the report who presented with pain and stiffness in knee which was sudden in onset and was present since he had a twisting injury to his left leg. Assessment, patient’s history, and therapeutic protocol have been discussed in the case study. This case study found that the provided therapeutic intervention has a substantial impact on the patient's discomfort, range of motion, and activities of daily living (ADL).

Keywords:

Knee Osteoarthritis, Retro Walking, WOMAC.