Date of Graduation

5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Biology

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Biological Sciences

Advisor/Mentor

Schmitt, Abigail

Committee Member

Du, Yuchin

Second Committee Member

Beaulieu, Jeremy Michael

Third Committee Member

Lessner, Faith

Abstract

Hip osteoarthritis (OA) is a joint disease that leads to degenerative damage surrounding the femoroacetabular joint, which can manifest as degraded cartilage and increased inflammation at the joint site. There are several methods physician’s use to measure a patient's condition, and our study looks at one called the Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score-12, or HOOS-12. This is a patient-reported outcome measure where patients can self-report their pain and level of dysfunction in relation to their hip osteoarthritis. This study investigates the association between the participants’ HOOS-12 scores and objective gait characteristics measured via a portable pressure sensing walkway. At community-events, individuals filled out a general health survey to screen for hip OA and if the participant selected hip OA, they were directed to the HOOS-12 survey. After the questionnaire, we measured participants’ gait characteristics, including gait velocity, stride length, and double support percentage during a self-selected walking assessment. I hypothesized participants with low HOOS-12 scores, indicating more pain and discomfort, would have slower gait velocities, shorter stride lengths, and larger double support percentage, and participants with high HOOS-12 scores would display the opposite. However, this study found no correlation between HOOS-12 scores, and the gait velocity, stride length, or double support percentage. These unexpected results could be due to the idea that studies conducted in a lab environment tend to yield different results than a normal environment. This may explain why our study, conducted in the community, differs from prior research conducted in the laboratory setting. Additionally, our participants appeared quite debilitated, indicated by their slow gait velocities, which can be an indicator of mortality. A limitation of the study is the small sample size (n=11). Overall, more research is needed to determine whether a correlation exists between HOOS-12 scores and gait characteristics of individuals with hip OA.

Keywords

Hip Osteoarthritis; Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scores-12; HOOS-12; Gait Analysis; Community-based walking

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