Classification of Patterns of Standing-up Movement from the Floor Due to the Presence or Absence of Knee Pain in Community-dwelling Elderly Women

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence or absence of knee pain and movement patterns on getting up from the floor in community-dwelling elderly women. We categorized the movement patterns to get up from the floor, and compared muscles of the trunk and upper/lower extremities, flexibility, and dynamic and static balance abilities between groups with and without knee pain. The results showed that many subjects with knee pain got up from the floor from a hand and foot crawling position. On a comparison of physical functional performance, a weaker quadriceps strength, shorter one-leg standing time, and slower walking speed on the timed-up-and-go (TUG) test were noted in elderly women with knee pain compared to those without such pain. The findings revealed that the elderly with knee pain get up from the floor from a crawling position to compensate for a decline in lower-limb muscle strength caused by knee pain.