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Quadriceps muscle weakness is related to increased risk of radiographic knee OA but not its progression in both women and men: the Matsudai Knee Osteoarthritis Survey

  • Knee
  • Published:
Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy Aims and scope

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the causal relationship between quadriceps muscle strength and radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA) in a longitudinal study.

Methods

The present study included 976 knees from 488 subjects who participated in both the 5th (2007) and 7th (2013) surveys of the Matsudai Knee Osteoarthritis Survey. Bilateral quadriceps strengths of each subject were measured using the quadriceps training machine (QTM-05F, Alcare Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). Additionally, weight-bearing standing knee radiographs were obtained, and knee OA was graded according to the Kellgren–Lawrence classification system. The relationships between quadriceps strength and the incidence and progression of radiographic knee OA were assessed using multiple logistic regression analysis.

Results

After adjusting for age and body mass index (BMI), both female and male knees in the lowest quantile of quadriceps strength had higher risk of the incidence of radiographic knee OA compared with the highest quantile of quadriceps strength (women: OR 2.414, 95% CI 1.098–5.311; men: OR 2.774, 95% CI 1.053–7.309). In contrast, after adjusting for age, BMI and femorotibial angle, both female and male knees in the lowest quantile compared with the highest quantile of quadriceps strength did not differ in risk of the progression of radiographic knee OA (women: OR 1.040, 95% CI 0.386–2.802; men: OR 2.814, 95% CI 0.532–14.898).

Conclusion

Quadriceps muscle weakness was related to increased risk of the incidence of radiographic knee OA, but not its progression, in both women and men. Therefore, the clinically important finding of this study is that, in both women and men, maintaining higher quadriceps muscle strength may be one of the most effective prevention methods for incident radiographic knee OA.

Level of evidence

II.

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Abbreviations

OA:

Osteoarthritis

BMI:

Body mass index

QTM:

Quadriceps training machine

FTA:

Femorotibial angle

OR:

Odds ratio

CI:

Confidence interval

JSN:

Joint space narrowing

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the members of the rehabilitation unit of Niigata Medical Center, Niigata University Health and Welfare, Niigata University, for their assistance in the Matsudai Knee Osteoarthritis Survey.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Orthopedic Surgery, Department of Regenerative and Transplant Medicine, Niigata University Graduate School of Medicine and Dental Sciences, 1-754 Asahimachidori Cuo-ku, Niigata City, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan

    Shigeru Takagi, Hiroshi Koga, Atsushi Nawata & Naoto Endo

  2. Division of Health and Sports, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata City, Japan

    Go Omori

  3. Division of Health and Nutrition, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata City, Japan

    Kazuo Endo

  4. Ninohji Onsen Hospital, Niigata City, Japan

    Yoshio Koga

Authors
  1. Shigeru Takagi
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  2. Go Omori
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  3. Hiroshi Koga
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  4. Kazuo Endo
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  5. Yoshio Koga
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  7. Naoto Endo
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Contributions

Author contributions

ST, GO, HK, KE, YK, AN, and NE contributed to study concept and design. ST, GO, HK, and YK contributed to acquisition of data. ST, GO, HK, and KE analysed and interpreted data. ST and GO drafted the manuscript. ST and GO contributed to critical revision. All authors have read and approved the manuscript for submission.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shigeru Takagi.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding

This study was partially supported by a grant (H20-316 Chouju-009; Director, Noriko Yoshimura) from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Japan.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

The informed consent was obtained from all participants in this study.

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Takagi, S., Omori, G., Koga, H. et al. Quadriceps muscle weakness is related to increased risk of radiographic knee OA but not its progression in both women and men: the Matsudai Knee Osteoarthritis Survey. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 26, 2607–2614 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-017-4551-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-017-4551-5

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