Lower Positive Body Pressure Walking Significantly Improves Pain And Function In Individuals With Knee...

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
• Rehabilitation Sciences
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent condition causing pain and functional limitations.
• Body weight-supported (BWS) therapies, including lower body positive pressure (LBPP) treadmills and aquatic walking, are explored for pain reduction in knee OA.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential benefits of BWS walking therapies for individuals with knee OA.
• Specifically, to compare the efficacy of LBPP treadmill walking against aquatic walking and a control group in managing knee OA symptoms.

Main Methods:

• A parallel-group randomized clinical trial involving 49 participants over 50 years old with knee OA.
• Participants were assigned to a control group, an aquatic walking group, or an LBPP treadmill group, with intervention groups attending two 30-minute sessions weekly for eight weeks.
• The primary outcome was the change in Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS)-Pain from baseline to 8 weeks; secondary outcomes included other KOOS subscales, the six-minute walk test (6-MWT), joint kinematics, and serum cytokine concentrations.

Main Results:

• The LBPP group demonstrated statistically significant and clinically relevant improvements in KOOS-Pain (15.3 points) compared to the aquatic (0.9 points) and control (-3.3 points) groups.
• LBPP intervention led to significant improvements in the 6-MWT (58.9m) and most KOOS subscales.
• Improvements in KOOS-Pain in the LBPP group were associated with increased knee flexion, while only the control group showed significant increases in IL-1β and IL-1RA concentrations.

Conclusions:

• This first randomized controlled trial of BWS for knee OA indicates that LBPP treadmill walking provides significant benefits.
• LBPP treadmill walking shows potential as an effective treatment for reducing pain and improving function in knee OA patients.
• Future research should focus on larger studies to determine effect size, long-term benefits, and cost-effectiveness of LBPP therapy for knee OA.