1- Department of Physiotherapy, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
2- Department of Physical Therapy, University of North Georgia, Georgia, USA.
Abstract: (3132 Views)
Purpose: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of physiotherapy with uphill walking versus physiotherapy alone on the disability of patients with knee osteoarthritis.
Methods: This study was a randomized clinical trial carried out on 30 patients (5 males and 25 females) with moderate knee osteoarthritis aged between 40 and 65 years. They were assigned to the intervention and control groups. Both groups received 10-session routine physiotherapy, and the intervention group received an 8-degree treadmill walking at a speed of 1.1m/s for 30 minutes in each session. The participants’ disability was measured before, immediately after, and 20 days after the 10-session treatment by the Persian version of Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). The data were analyzed through the repeated measures analysis of variance in SPSS V. 22. The significant level was set at 0.05.
Results: Statistical analysis showed significant improvements in the activity of daily living (P≤0.01) and quality of life (P<0.05) in both groups, with these improvements being persistent up to the 20th day (P<0.02). Other subscales included Symptoms, pain, and sports functions improved only in the intervention group (P≤0.01), and these improvements were persistent up to the 20th day (P≤0.003).
Conclusion: This study showed that physiotherapy combined with uphill walking versus physiotherapy alone results in improvements in pain, other symptoms, and sports function subscales of patients with moderate knee osteoarthritis. These improvements were persistent up to the 20th day. Accordingly, it is recommended to include an 8-degree inclined treadmill walking to the routine physiotherapy program in the management of knee osteoarthritis.
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● Stretching exercises are recommended to correct knee flexion contracture, and uphill treadmill walking is a form of functional stretching.
● This study showed that physiotherapy combined with uphill walking improved pain, symptoms, and sport and recreation functions of patients with knee osteoarthritis after 10 sessions or 20-day follow-up.
● The physiotherapist may consider uphill treadmill walking when designing a physiotherapy program for patients with knee osteoarthritis to promote the results of the rehabilitation programs.
Plain Language Summary
Knee flexion contracture because of pain is a complication of knee osteoarthritis, which consequently exerts a great force on patellofemoral joint and accelerates the degeneration process. Slow, sustained stretching, and free range of motion exercises are suggested to correct knee flexion contracture, which can be performed by uphill walking. This study aimed at comparing the effectiveness of physiotherapy with uphill walking versus physiotherapy alone on disability in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. The study intervention group received a ten-session physiotherapy program with an uphill treadmill walking, and the control group received the same physiotherapy program alone. The results showed that physiotherapy combined with uphill walking provided improvements in pain, symptoms, and sport and recreation functions in patients with knee osteoarthritis which did not improve as a result of physiotherapy alone. Thus, it is recommended to promote the results of physiotherapy by uphill treadmill walking
Type of Study:
Research |
Subject:
General Received: 2019/07/5 | Accepted: 2019/08/7 | Published: 2019/11/12