Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34965270›Full record

ArticlePloS one2021

Effects of age and knee osteoarthritis on the modular control of walking: A pilot study.

Sarah A Roelker, Rebekah R Koehn, Elena J Caruthers, Laura C Schmitt, Ajit M W Chaudhari, Robert A Siston

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Age-dependent synergistic control of sit-to-stand motion.European journal of applied physiology · 2026
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Sarah A RoelkerDepartment of Kinesiology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-8843-3852
Rebekah R KoehnDepartment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.
Elena J CaruthersDepartment of Engineering, Otterbein University, Westerville, Ohio, United States of America.
Laura C SchmittSchool of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.
Ajit M W ChaudhariDepartment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-5071-7147
Robert A SistonDepartment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center · USOtterbein University · USThe Ohio State University · USUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst · US

Funding

Using Intraoperative Measurements to Predict Postoperative Outcomes of TKAR01AR056700 · NIAMS · OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY · PI SISTON, ROBERT ANTHONY · 2011 to 2014
$1.2M
NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR056700
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOlder 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.

methodsKinematic, 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. One-way Analysis of Variance tests assessed the effect of group on walking speed and the number of modules. Kendall rank correlations (τb) assessed the association between the number of modules and self-selected walking speed.

resultsThe 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 (τb = 0.350, p = 0.021) 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.

conclusionThese 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.

Indexed as

GaitAdultAgedBiomechanical PhenomenaFemaleHumansKnee JointMiddle AgedMuscle, SkeletalOsteoarthritis, KneePilot ProjectsWalking SpeedYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID34965270
PMCPMC8716059
OpenAlexW4226391651

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.