Knee joint position sense in compressive myelopathy.

STUDY

DESIGN

The knee joint position sense (JPS) and kinesthesia were measured in patients with compressive myelopathy.

OBJECTIVES

To find out how the knee JPS and kinesthesia are useful to evaluate lower limb function in patients with compressive myelopathy.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: No previous reports have been written on the quantitative analysis of knee joint proprioception in myelopathy patients.

METHODS

Twenty-one compressive myelopathy patients with a mean age of 64 years were studied. The measured values of JPS and kinesthesia were examined in relation to the following: lower limb function and central motor conduction time (CMCT).

RESULTS

Inaccurate angles of the knee JPS in patients with severe walking disability were significantly larger than those in patients with mild disability. Inaccurate angles of the knee JPS in patients with severe sensory disturbance were significantly larger than those in patients with mild disturbance. CMCT showed a significant correlation to the knee JPS.

CONCLUSIONS

The knee JPS was useful to evaluate lower limb function in patients with compressive myelopathy.