Home based exercise programme for knee pain and knee osteoarthritis: randomised controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology
• Orthopedics
• Physical Therapy

Background:

• Knee pain affects a significant portion of the adult population over 45.
• Effective, accessible management strategies for knee pain are crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of a home-based exercise program for improving outcomes in patients with knee pain.
• To compare exercise therapy, telephone contact, and combined interventions against no intervention.

Main Methods:

• A pragmatic, factorial randomized controlled trial involving 786 participants aged 45+ with self-reported knee pain.
• Participants were randomized into four groups: exercise therapy, telephone contact, combined therapy, or no intervention.
• Primary outcome measured was knee pain using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) osteoarthritis index at two years.

Main Results:

• A total of 600 participants (76.3%) completed the two-year study.
• Pooled exercise groups showed significant reductions in knee pain at 24 months compared to non-exercise groups (mean difference -0.82).
• Improvements in pain were observed at multiple time points, with greater reduction linked to higher adherence to the exercise plan.

Conclusions:

• A simple home-based exercise program is an effective intervention for significantly reducing knee pain.
• The results suggest that improvements are primarily due to the exercise component, not solely psychosocial effects from therapist contact.