Lower limb kinematics improvement after genicular nerve blockade in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a milestone study using inertial sensors.

ABSTRACT: Background: Genicular nerve blockade is a possible treatment for patients with knee osteoarthritis. Pain relief and improvement in functioning is expected. This procedure could be of major interest for patients in low-income countries where total knee arthroplasty is not available for the population. This study aims at assessing the immediate benefits on pain, gait, and stairs kinematics after a genicular nerve blockade in patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis in Cameroun.

Methods: A prospective study was carried out on 26 subjects in Cameroun. A genicular nerve blockade was performed on 14 women with painful knee osteoarthritis grade 2-4. Lower limb joint angles were recorded with inertial sensors before and 1 h after injection. Patient-reported outcomes of pain and perceived difficulty were collected, as well as 10?m and 6?min walking tests. A reliability analysis of inertial sensors was performed on a sample of 12 healthy subjects by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient and the standard error of measurement.

Results: Pain and perceived difficulty decreased significantly (p 
Conclusions: This study quantified improvement of gait and stair climbing immediately after a genicular nerve blockade in patients suffering from knee OA in Cameroon. This is the first study objectifying this effect, through wearable sensors.

Trial registration: Pan African Clinical Trial Registry, PACTR202004822698484 . Registered 28 March 2020 - Retrospectively registered.

SUBMITTER: Lebleu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7722305 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature