Comparison between pain intensity, functionality, central sensitization, and self-efficacy in individuals with unilateral or bilateral knee osteoarthritis: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative disease that affects the joints, in particular, the knee is the most commonly affected. Pain, stiffness, and crepitus in joint movement are some of the symptoms that disable individuals. The treatment of this disease includes control of body mass (weight reduction), use of anti-inflammatory drugs, and exercise 1 .Recent studies have focused on understanding the risks of comorbidities associated with knee osteoarthritis 2 , the biochemical and gait parameters after arthroplasty 2,3 , and prognosis after therapies in bilateral knee osteoarthritis (B-KO) and unilateral knee osteoarthritis (U-KO) 4 .Asymmetry between the lower limbs seems to be more prevalent in individuals with B-KO 5 , while the reduction in muscle strength and volume of the affected limb is more observed in individuals with U-KO 6 , and both (B-KO and U-KO) have already been associated with primary and secondary hyperalgesia 7 . However, these clinical differences have been less investigated.Marmon et al. 8 and Messier et al. 9 described that, regardless of the number of affected knees, individuals with knee osteoarthritis have similar functional capacity and biomechanical parameters. Riddle and Stratford 10 pointed out that people with U-KO have higher levels of pain; however, according to the authors themselves, the differences between the clinical variables of bilateral and unilateral involvement in knee osteoarthritis remain controversial and little known. In this perspective, this study aimed to compare pain intensity, stiffness, functionality, central sensitization, and self-efficacy between individuals