The Effect of Physical Activity on Knee Osteoarthritis, Pain and Gait

Plain-language summary

Knee osteoarthritis, a chronic musculoskeletal disease, is the most prevalent type of osteoarthritis and the leading cause of disability and major healthcare costs worldwide. The pathogenesis of the disease is not fully understood and there are few non-invasive disease-modifying therapies available to patients. Therefore, there is a critical need to enhance therapeutic interventions, which requires improvement of our understanding of knee osteoarthritis pathogenesis. Increasing evidence suggests that physical activity and exercise training are cost-effective and widely available interventions for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis, however, consideration of type of physical activity and optimal exercise modality are needed to reduce pain, improve gait, knee joint function, stiffness, and muscle weakness in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. The aim of this pilot clinical trial is to compare individuals with knee osteoarthritis who have not exercised with individuals that have performed retro walking exercise chosen from the systematic review and survey we have conducted previously to reduce pain and improve gait. Non-linear analyses will be performed to determine the effects of exercise intervention on gait biomechanics and stability of movement in these patients. These findings may form a basis for recommendations of exercise/physical activity interventions for the benefits of patients with knee osteoarthritis including pain reduction, mobility improvement and gait modification.

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