Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Falling is the leading cause of injury among those 65 and older accounting for over 80% of all injury admissions to hospital, and nearly 50% of those with knee osteoarthritis (OA) have experienced a fall. The risk of falling is related to an individual's level of balance control. Balance treatment programs for those with knee OA have had limited success, even though targeted balance interventions in other populations have seen positive results. This may be because there is no validated tool to measure balance in the knee OA population, and the risk factors specifically related to balance in people with knee OA are unknown. The purpose of this project is to better understand the role of functional balance and risk factors for balance control in people with knee OA, and to develop a targeted functional balance intervention to treat balance impairments in this population. Study 1: Validity and reliability of a measure of functional balance will be assessed in individuals with knee OA, by comparing to scores on other measures of balance and function including the gold standard for balance assessment in the elderly. Study 2: Potential factors that contribute to functional balance impairments will be explored. Muscle strength, knee pain, joint proprioception (body awareness), and disease severity will be measured and results of those with knee OA and healthy adults will be compared. Study 3: A 12-week targeted functional balance intervention will be developed, with exercises that specifically target the balance factors identified in Study 2. Functional balance and physical function will be evaluated before and after the intervention. The creation of an effective, evidence-based balance intervention for those with knee OA represents a new, innovative approach to balance treatment in OA and should improve balance and physical function, while simultaneously reducing the risk of falls for those with OA. This will decrease the long term personal and economic burden of OA.