An Integrated Education and Exercise Programme for Tamil People With Osteoarthritis Knee

Osteoarthritis knee (OA knee) is a chronic joint condition associated with pain, disability and reduced quality of life. Guidelines recommend self-management, patient education, behavioural support and tailored exercise as core components of non-surgical treatment.

To develop and evaluate an OA knee patient education booklet and a physiotherapist-led integrated programme involving the core components of non-surgical care to improve clinical outcomes in Tamil-speaking people with OA knee of Tamil Nadu state (Population 72.1 million, 2011 census), India.

A patient education booklet was developed through an iterative process and evaluated in 50 patients, carers, and physiotherapists. The impact of the integrated programme on knee pain, function, physical performance, and adherence was assessed at six weeks and during a follow-up at six months.

The Tamil booklet was easy to read, useful and relevant. 31 patients (26 women; 5 men, average age 60.4 years) took part in the integrated programme. Improvements in pain, function and performance measures were statistically significant and clinically meaningful. The majority of them found the programme useful and satisfactory and reported that their condition improved. There were no adverse events.

Our Tamil OA knee education booklet was deemed relevant and useful. The integrated education and exercise programme was feasible and acceptable and our findings provided preliminary evidence on its clinical benefits in people with OA knee.