Physical Activity Knowledge in People With Knee Osteoarthritis Before and After Participation in an Education and...

Few people with knee osteoarthritis meet the World Health Organization (WHO) physical activity guidelines, and knowledge of guidelines in this population is not well known. We examined (i) baseline knowledge of physical activity guidelines in people with knee osteoarthritis; (ii) change in knowledge following participation in an education and exercise therapy programme; and (iii) its association with programme adherence and physical activity participation.

An observational cohort pre-post study including 1470 participants with knee osteoarthritis (72% female) from the Good Life with osteoArthritis from Denmark (GLA:D) Australia registry. Five multiple-choice questions assessed knowledge of the WHO physical activity guidelines at baseline and at 3 months post baseline. Programme adherence was self-reported and physical activity participation was assessed using the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) physical activity scale. Changes in overall knowledge score were assessed through the Wilcoxon test and changes within individual questions were assessed with McNemar's tests. Associations between variables were assessed using Spearman's correlations.

The median physical activity knowledge score was 2/5 [IQR 1, 2] correct responses at both baseline and follow-up without change between time points (p = 0.080). Follow-up physical activity knowledge score was not associated with physical activity participation (r_s = 0.020) or programme adherence (r_s = 0.060). 61% of participants attended a minimum of 10 exercise and 2 education sessions.

Knowledge of physical activity guidelines is limited among people with knee osteoarthritis and does not appear to change following participation in an education and exercise therapy programme. This large study indicates that physical activity knowledge may not drive physical activity behaviour in people with knee osteoarthritis.