The effect of aerobic exercise program versus a home based exercise therapy on pain and functional disability in patients with knee osteoarthritis

Abstract

We compared the effects of an aerobic exercise program with a home based exercise therapy on the clinical signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. The Western Ontario and MacMaster Universities (WOMAC) osteoarthritis index and visual analogue scale (VAS) were used to evaluate knee pain and disability. Quality of life was assessed by the short form-36(SF-36) Health Survey mental and physical components. Physical performance was evaluated by a 30 meter walking time and a climb and descent time of 16 stairs. Maximal isometric quadriceps and hamstring forces were measured for each leg with a handgrip dynamometer. All measures were taken at the beginning and the end of the 8 weeks. 30 patients meeting ACR criteria for knee OA were taken in this study. Patients were randomized to either aerobic exercise group or home exercise group. At week 8. significant improvement in all pain and disability scores was observed in the aerobic exercise group. There were significant improvements in VAS pain, WOMAC and SF-36 disability scores in the home exercise group. There were no significant differences between the groups, except for the SF-36 disability score. The home exercise group significantly increased both the quadriceps and hamstring strength from baseline to follow-up (p<0,001 and p<0,01, respectively) and only the aerobic exercise group significantly increased hamstring strength (p<0,05). The perfor-mance measures improved significantly from baseline to follow up in the aerobic exercise group, but not in the home exercise group. This study shows that simple home-based exercise and aerobic exercise programme reduce pain and increase functional ability in patients with knee OA.