Background: Although symmetry of spatio-temporal parameter and center of pressure (COP) shift during walking is associated with knee adduction moment, research on clinical association with knee osteoarthritis (OA)-related knee pain and functional scores is lacking.
Objects: The aims were 1) to compare symmetry of gait parameters and COP-shift in patients with unilateral knee OA and pain and matched controls, and 2) to investigate the relationship between symmetry of gait parameters and COP-shift, and clinical measures.
Methods: Female subjects (n = 16) had with unilateral radiological knee OA and pain. Healthy controls (n = 15) were age-matched to OA group. Symmetry of foot rotation, step length, stance and swing phase, lateral symmetry of COP and anterior/posterior symmetry of COP during walking was assessed. To assess the clinical variables, pain intensity, pain duration and function using Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Survey (KOOS) subscales were collected. We compared symmetry between groups using Mann–Whitney U-test or independent t-test. Relationships between clinical measures and symmetry index measured using Spearman’s correlation test. Statistical significance was set at α = 0.05.
Results: Knee OA group showed significantly greater values of only lateral symmetry of COP (p < 0.01) than healthy group. Values of lateral symmetry of COP had moderate or strong correlation significantly with the intensity of knee pain, pain duration, and scores of all KOOS subscales (p < 0.01).
Conclusion: Patients with unilateral knee OA and pain showed more asymmetry of lateral COP-shift during walking compared with matched healthy controls. In addition, larger asymmetry of lateral COP-shift has the moderate or strong association with worse of knee pain, worse in KOOS scores and longer duration of knee pain. Asymmetry of lateral COP-shift during walking may be one of the characteristics of unilateral knee OA as the compensatory strategy response to unilateral OA of the knee.

INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
    1. Subjects
    2. Instrumentation
    3. Procedure
    4. Statistical analysis
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
CONCLUSIONS
REFERENCES

• Si-hyun Kim(Department of Physical Therapy, Sangji University)
• Kyue-nam Park(Department of Physical Therapy, College of Medical Science, Jeonju University) Corresponding Author