Co-activation is not altered in the contra-lateral limb of individuals with moderate knee osteoarthritis compared to healthy controls.

Background: Contra-lateral knee joint function in individuals with moderate knee osteoarthritis is not well understood, despite the functional burden of bilateral osteoarthritis on end stage clinical management. The purpose of this study was to determine whether co-activation and joint biomechanics are altered in the contra-lateral limb compared to age-matched controls.

Methods: 20 Individuals with moderate knee osteoarthritis and 20 asymptomatic individuals walked on an instrumented dual belt treadmill at a self-selected speed. Surface electromyography of the knee joint musculature, including quadriceps, hamstrings and gastrocnemius muscles, normalized to maximum voluntary isometric contractions, as well as sagittal plane motion and sagittal and frontal plane moments were collected. Co-contraction indices were calculated and discrete variables from motion and moment data were extracted. Two-sample t-tests and 2-sample mixed model ANOVAs were performed with alpha <0.05.

Findings: Contra-lateral knee muscle co-activation differences were not found between groups (p > 0.65). Peak knee adduction moment (0.41 Nm/kg vs. 0.32 Nm/kg) and knee adduction moment impulse (0.14 Nm s/kg vs. 0.10 Nm s/kg) were higher in the contra-lateral limb compared to the asymptomatic group respectively, whereas the sagittal motion (9.8° vs. 14.4°) and moment ranges (0.66 Nm/kg vs. 0.86 Nm/kg) during stance were less dynamic (p < 0.03).

Interpretation: The contra-lateral limb was functioning differently biomechanically despite no changes present in muscle co-activation. Findings suggest biomechanical changes are occurring without greater demand on the neuromuscular system to preserve contra-lateral joint function in moderate knee osteoarthritis gait. A greater focus should be made to address biomechanical abnormalities in both knees of individuals with moderate unilateral symptomatic knee osteoarthritis.