Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 3, 2026
The Lower Body Positive Pressure Treadmill for Knee Osteoarthritis Rehabilitation
Published on: July 22, 2019
Exercise in knee osteoarthritis--preliminary findings: Exercise-induced pain and health status differs between
David Beckwée1, Ivan Bautmans2, Thierry Scheerlinck3
1Frailty in Ageing Research Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, B-1090 Brussels, Belgium; Frailty in Ageing Research Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, B-1090 Brussels, Belgium.
Background:
Exercise effectiveness is related to adherence, compliance and drop-out. The aim of this study is to investigate if exercise-induced pain and health status are related to these outcomes during two exercise programs in knee osteoarthritis patients.
Methods:
Symptomatic knee osteoarthritis patients were randomly allocated to a walking or strengthening program (N=19/group). At baseline, patients were categorized according to their health status. Exercise adherence and compliance were calculated and drop-out rate was registered. For exercise-induced pain, patients rated their pain on an 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS) before and after each training session. Before each session the maximal perceived pain of the last 24h (NRSmax24) was assessed. Patients rated their global self-perceived effect (GPE) on a 7-point ordinal scale after the intervention period.
Results:
53% of the participants felt they improved after the program, 6 patients dropped out. The mean adherence and compliance rates were higher than .83 in both groups. Worse health and higher exercise-induced pain were seen in drop-outs. NRSmax24 during the first 3 weeks did not significantly increase compared to baseline, but correlated negatively with adherence during the home sessions (-.56, p<.05). Lower adherence during supervised sessions was significantly related with higher pre-exercise pain scores (ρ=-.35, p<.05).
Conclusion:
Patients who drop-out show a worse health condition and higher exercise-induced pain levels compared to patients that retained the program.
