, 1994) and OA (Hassan et al., 2001) subjects compared to healthy controls, as well

as an association between this website injury risk and core proprioception in athletes (Zazulak et al., 2007). These findings have highlighted the significance of reduced proprioception and how it may contribute to disease progression. Proprioception involves a complex interplay between central processing, peripheral proprioceptive receptors and the activation of specific muscles (Hassan et al., 2001). It is a vital feedback mechanism that allows the body to perceive where limbs are positioned and initiates appropriate muscle recruitment to ensure posture is maintained. It has been suggested that the defect in collagen and resulting ligament laxity not only increases the range of movement of a joint, but leads to the adoption of hyperextended postures as a result of decreased stability (Hall et al., 1995). It could be speculated that the resultant repeated trauma and wear from these abnormal postures may be the cause of increased

OA incidence within the BJHS population. Treatment options for BJHS patients have been given little attention and, as a result, patients are often left untreated. Physiotherapy as a treatment has been explored with some success. The aim of such treatments is to strengthen supporting muscles, which is thought to increase proprioceptive acuity. The idea comes from the observation that BJHS is widely seen in ballet dancers (Klemp et al., 1984), yet proprioception does not appear selleck chemicals llc to be effected (Barrack et al., 1984). Both treatment and research in BJHS has to date focussed on the structures immediately surrounding the affected joint. However the thorax, trunk and lower limbs are a dynamic structure, and should be treated as such rather than considering each joint in isolation. Recently, the spine has been

modelled as an inverted pendulum supported by a moving base (the lower limbs) (McGregor and Hukins, 2009). This model can be extended to suggest that the hip, knee and ankle joints are also moving Sclareol bases that support the back, upper leg and lower leg respectively. It is thought that problems at a specific joint could be the result of problems that lie elsewhere in this dynamic structure. Indeed, injury risk in sports participants has been associated with both lumbopelvic movement control (Roussel et al., 2009) and core proprioception (Zazulak et al., 2007), and this might explain how instabilities at joints lead to musculoskeletal injuries and conditions such as LBP and OA. Recently specific attention has been given to the hip musculature; specifically gluteus medius in people with osteoarthritis affecting their knee joint (Chang et al., 2005 and Henriksen et al., 2009). It has been proposed that weakness in GM results in contralateral pelvic drop in these subjects and increased loading on the medial knee joint (Chang et al., 2005).