[Physical activity for knee osteoarthritis.]

Elder populations have been increasing in Japan and estimated 24 million people have knee osteoarthritis(OA). Recently, people have diverse sociological background and demand for participating sports has been growing. People may participate sports to prevent some diseases such as locomotive syndrome. According to the recent studies, excessive high impact sports increase the risk of OA, while daily life exercise decrease the risk. Epidemiological approach demonstrated that reduced knee extension muscle strength increases the risk of OA. We reviewed and discussed the recent topics including efficacy of physical therapy for knee OA and how much sports activities could be beneficial after knee surgery.