The relationship between static foot posture and chronic bilateral knee osteoarthritis among the patients attending Department of Rheumatology and Rehabilitation (General), National hospital, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Abstract. Knee osteoarthritis is one of the most common types of arthritis presented in Sri Lanka that deteriorates the quality of life and physical performances of affected individuals. In chronic bilateral knee osteoarthritis, there is a higher possibility to develop deviated foot and ankle characteristics as a result of alterations in the mechanical alignment of lower limbs. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between static foot posture and chronic bilateral knee osteoarthritis. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted under consecutive sampling method including 155 patients within the age group of 40–80, who were clinically diagnosed as bilateral knee osteoarthritis and fulfilled the inclusion criteria at Department of Rheumatology and Rehabilitation (General), National hospital of Sri Lanka. The foot posture was evaluated using two foot measures, Foot Posture Index (FPI) and Staheli Arch Index (SAI). The study included 135 females and 20 males with the mean age of 59.19±8.649 years old. According to the FPI and SAI, altered foot postures were exhibited by 52.3% and 67.7% of the participants respectively. Significant positive correlations (P<0.01) were emphasized between chronicity of the condition and each of the foot posture changes. Furthermore, pronation (51.3%) and flatfeet (57.7%) are common among patients who were ≥60 years. There is a significant difference (P<0.01) between foot postural changes of males and foot postural changes of females which were evaluated using FPI while a significant difference was not denoted (P>0.05) for foot posture changes which were evaluated using SAI. Altered foot postures are common among chronic bilateral knee osteoarthritis patients in Sri Lanka. Therefore, it is recommended that assessment of foot posture in knee osteoarthritis patients is an essential component in clinical practice in Sri Lanka.