Self-Management for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a high incidence chronic joint disease that seriously affects patients' quality of life, and current treatment methods have limited efficacy. Self-management may be an effective strategy for KOA, and clinicians have been showing increased interest recently. However, the effectiveness of self-management for KOA remains controversial.

This study aims to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of self-management for KOA.

We screened articles published in MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Web of Science until September 17, 2021. The main outcomes included pain, knee function, stiffness, WOMAC (total), physical function, arthritis self-efficacy (ASE-pain), arthritis self-efficacy (ASE-other symptoms), mental health, and quality of life.

Thirteen randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were finally included (n = 1610). Meta-analysis showed differences in pain, knee function, stiffness, ASE-pain, ASE-other symptoms, mental health, and quality of life between the self-management and control groups. Of the nine outcomes evaluated, four were highly heterogeneous, and the quality of evidence ranged from very low to moderate.

The meta-analysis results showed that self-management might help improve the pain, knee function, stiffness, ASE, mental health, and quality of life in patients with KOA. However, it has no significant effect on WOMAC (total) and physical function. Considering that this study has some limitations, we cannot draw clear conclusions based on the results of this study. Nevertheless, we offer much needed insight and encourage more rigorously designed and implemented RCTs in the future to substantiate our conclusions.