Table 2.
Gait characteristics in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis and age and sex matched able-bodied adults
| Parameter | Variable | Able-bodied Adults (n = 12) | Early RA Patients (n = 12) | Mean Difference | 95%CI Difference |
| Spatiotemporal | Walking speed (m/s) | 1.30 (0.17) | 1.05 (0.20) | -0.24 | (-0.41, -0.08) |
| Double-support (%GC) | 15.8 (3.4) | 19.3 (4.7) | 3.5 | (0, 7.0) | |
| Kinematics | Initial foot contact angle (deg) | 13.8 (2.4) | 14.2 (4.5) | -0.4 | (-3.5, 2.7) |
| Terminal stance heel rise (deg) | -85.7 (5.4) | -78.9 (9.6) | 6.7 | (0.1, 13.5) | |
| Minimum arch height (mm) | 31 (5) | 29 (7) | -2 | (-8, 3) | |
| Peak eversion (deg) | -4.4 (3.4) | -5.5 (9.8) | -1.1 | (-7.5, 5.4) | |
| Kinetics/Moments/Power | Peak force loading response (BW) | 1.11 (0.12) | 1.05 (0.12) | -0.07 | (-0.17, 0.04) |
| Peak force terminal stance (BW) | 1.12 (0.62) | 1.12 (0.61) | 0 | (-0.05, 0.05) | |
| Peak plantarflexion moment (Nm/kg) | -1.6 (0.1) | -1.5 (0.1) | 0 | (-0.1, 0.1) | |
| Peak ankle joint power (W/kg) | 4.6 (1.6) | 3.4 (1.0) | -1.3 | (-2.4, 0.2) | |
| Foot pressure | CoP at 50% foot length (% stance) | 44.2 (5.0) | 44.3 (10.8) | 0.1 | (-7.2, 7.4) |
| Lesser toes contact area (cm-2) | 8.1 (1.9) | 7.6 (3.1) | -0.5 | (-2.7, 1.7) | |
| Midfoot contact area (cm-2) | 19.4 (6.5) | 24.6 (7.2) | 5.3 | (-0.6, 11.1) | |
| Forefoot peak pressure (kPa) | 553 (193) | 672 (255) | 119 | (-73, 311) |
CI = confidence interval; BW = body weight (vertical ground reaction force normalised to body weight)