Vol. 7, Issue 10, Part B (2021)

Background: Postural control is of fundamental importance to human actions in unstable conditions, and versatile enough to allow rapid starts of movement. The maintenance of the postural balance depends on the integrity of the sensory interaction by the central nervous system, which involves visual and spatial perception, an effective muscle tone, which adapts quickly to change, and finally muscle strength and joint flexibility.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative and progressive joint disease that mainly involves weight-bearing joints such as the hip, knee, and ankle. It is considered as one of the leading causes of lower limb disabilities among the elderly. People with knee. OA experience loss of proprioception, which may affect postural stability and risk of fall. OA is more common in women than men, but the prevalence increases dramatically with age.

There are balance impairments associated with aging. Age related decline in the ability of above systems to receive and integrate sensory information contributes to poor balance.

Purpose: To study prevalence of balance and postural stability in individuals with unilateral and bilateral OA knee using BES Test scale.

Method: Observational study consist of 60 diagnosed OA subjects age between 40 to 70 years.

Sampling Method- Simple Random Sampling.

Inclusion Criteria- Male and Female, according to Kellgren – Lawrence classification scale for osteoarthritis severity in individuals grading 1 and 2. Age group from 40 to 70 years. BMI - 18.5kg/m2 to 24.9kg/m2

Exclusion Criteria- Any neurological conditions that affects balance. Lower limb joint replacement, knee surgery. Lower limb fractures during past 6 months. Any musculoskeletal congenital problems.

Result: The study shows that there is significant prevalence of balance and postural stability in individuals with unilateral and bilateral OA knee.

Conclusion: The study concludes that the prevalence of balance and postural stability in bilateral OA knee is more than that of unilateral OA knee