Older adults and individuals with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) often exhibit reduced locomotor function and altered muscle activity. Identifying age- and KOA-related changes to the modular control of gait may provide insight into the neurological mechanisms underlying reduced walking performance in these populations. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine if the modular control of walking differs between younger and older adults without KOA and adults with end-stage KOA. Kinematic, kinetic, and electromyography data were collected from ten younger (23.5 ± 3.1 years) and ten older (63.5 ± 3.4 years) adults without KOA and ten adults with KOA (64.0 ± 4.0 years) walking at their self-selected speed. Separate non-negative matrix factorizations of 500 bootstrapped samples determined the number of modules required to reconstruct each participant’s electromyography. The number of modules required in the younger adults (3.2 ± 0.4) was greater than in the individuals with KOA (2.3 ± 0.7; p = 0.002), though neither cohorts’ required number of modules differed significantly from the unimpaired older adults (2.7 ± 0.5; p ≥ 0.113). A significant association between module number and walking speed was observed (r = 0.532; p = 0.003) and individuals with KOA walked significantly slower (0.095 ± 0.21 m/s) than younger adults (1.24 ± 0.15 m/s; p = 0.005). Individuals with KOA also exhibited altered module activation patterns and composition (which muscles are associated with each module) compared to unimpaired adults. These findings suggest aging alone may not significantly alter modular control; however, the combined effects of knee osteoarthritis and aging may together impair the modular control of gait.

中文翻译：

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年龄和膝关节骨关节炎对步行模块化控制的影响：一项初步研究

老年人和膝关节骨关节炎 (KOA) 患者通常表现出运动功能下降和肌肉活动改变。确定与年龄和 KOA 相关的步态模块化控制的变化可能有助于深入了解这些人群中步行能力下降的神经机制。这项试点研究的目的是确定没有 KOA 的年轻人和老年人与终末期 KOA 成年人之间步行的模块化控制是否不同。运动学、动力学和肌电图数据收集自 10 名年轻 (23.5 ± 3.1 岁) 和 10 名年长 (63.5 ± 3.4 岁) 没有 KOA 的成年人和十名患有 KOA 的成年人 (64.0 ± 4.0 岁) 以他们自己选择的速度行走。500 个自举样本的单独非负矩阵分解确定了重建每个参与者的肌电图所需的模块数量。年轻人所需的模块数 (3.2 ± 0.4) 大于 KOA 患者 (2.3 ± 0.7；p = 0.002），尽管两个队列所需的模块数量与未受损的老年人（2.7 ± 0.5；p ≥ 0.113）有显着差异。观察到模块数量与步行速度之间存在显着关联（r = 0.532；p = 0.003），并且患有 KOA 的个体步行速度（0.095 ± 0.21 m/s）明显慢于年轻人（1.24 ± 0.15 m/s；p = 0.005） . 与未受损的成年人相比，患有 KOA 的个体还表现出改变的模块激活模式和组成（哪些肌肉与每个模块相关）。这些发现表明单独老化可能不会显着改变模块化控制；然而，膝关节骨关节炎和衰老的综合影响可能共同损害步态的模块化控制。