Effects of lower body positive pressure treadmill on functional improvement in knee osteoarthritis: A randomized clinical trial study

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of recruited patients

Characteristic	LBPP group (n = 8)	Conventional group (n = 10)	P value
Age (yr)	59.63 ± 8.40	58.30 ± 8.54	0.746
Sex (male/female)	3/7	2/6	1.000
Height (cm)	162.25 ± 5.23	162.80 ± 5.12	0.825
Weight (kg)	61.25 ± 4.57	61.11 ± 6.07	0.958
BMI (kg/m2)	23.24 ± 0.85	23.02 ± 1.37	0.178
Duration of symptoms (mo)	68.13 ± 14.60	63.40 ± 15.00	0.983
Affected knee (left/right)	3/5	4/6	1.000
Kellgren-Lawrence Grade (Grade 2/Grade 3)	6/8	7/3	0.897

There were no significant differences between lower body positive pressure group and conventional group. BMI: Body mass index; LBPP: Lower body positive pressure.

Table 2 Comparisons of clinical assessment parameters within group (between pre- and post-treatment) and among groups (between lower body positive pressure group and conventional group)

	LBPP group		Conventional group		P1 value	P2 value	P3 value	P4 value
	Pre-treatment	Post-treatment	Pre-treatment	Post-treatment
WOMAC (scores)	70.25 ± 13.93	40.50 ± 11.86	69.20 ± 8.88	48.10 ± 8.67	< 0.001	< 0.001	0.848	0.135
VAS (scores)	3.88 ± 0.99	1.63 ± 0.52	3.80 ± 0.79	2.60 ± 0.70	< 0.001	< 0.001	0.860	0.005
Knee AROM (degree)	112.50 ± 10.13	119.88 ± 8.71	110.00 ± 7.69	115.70 ± 7.50	< 0.001	< 0.001	0.559	0.290
ADL (scores)	92.50 ± 5.98	94.38 ± 5.63	91.50 ± 4.74	93.00 ± 4.22	0.197	0.081	0.697	0.561

¹Stands for comparison within lower body positive pressure (LBPP) group between pre-treatment and post-treatment.

²Stands for comparison within conventional group between pre-treatment and post-treatment.

³Stands for comparison among groups for pre-treatment between LBPP group and conventional group.

⁴Stands for comparison among groups for post-treatment between LBPP group and Conventional group.

LBPP: Lower body positive pressure; WOMAC: Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Index; VAS: Visual analogue scale; AROM: Active joint range of motion; ADL: Activity of daily living.

Table 3 Comparison of spatiotemporal parameters within group (between pre- and post-treatment) and among groups (between lower body positive pressure group and control group)

	LBPP group		Control group			P1 value	P2 value	P3 value	P4 value
	Pre-treatment	Post-treatment		Pre-treatment	Post-treatment
Stance phase (%)	55.11 ± 3.13	57.31 ± 2.39		54.49 ± 3.35	55.72 ± 2.60	0.001	0.096	0.690	0.201
Swing phase (%)	44.89 ± 3.13	42.69 ± 2.39		45.52 ± 3.35	44.28 ± 2.60	< 0.001	< 0.001	0.690	0.197
Mean velocity(%height/s)	57.64 ± 2.10	64.28 ± 3.64		57.72 ± 3.84	59.33 ± 3.17	< 0.001	< 0.001	0.958	0.007
Cadence (steps/min)	106.76 ± 3.22	110.10 ± 2.84		104.46 ± 4.35	105.36 ± 3.58	0.002	0.141	0.233	0.008
Stride length (m)	0.46 ± 0.03	0.50 ± 0.18		0.47 ± 0.02	0.48 ± 0.23	0.001	0.025	0.399	0.037
Step width (m)	0.15 ± 0.01	0.15 ± 0.01		0.15 ± 0.01	0.15 ± 0.00	0.080	0.343	0.753	0.854
Knee flex-extension (Degree)	66.14 ± 5.43	72.34 ± 5.38		66.40 ± 5.26	66.89 ± 5.33	0.004	0.400	0.919	0.048

¹Stands for comparison within lower body positive pressure (LBPP) group between pre-treatment and post-treatment.

²Stands for comparison within control group between pre-treatment and post-treatment.

³Stands for comparison among groups for pre-treatment between LBPP group and control group.

⁴Stands for comparison among groups for post-treatment between LBPP group and control group.

LBPP: Lower body positive pressure.