Dec 30, 2020
TUESDAY, Dec. 29, 2020 (HealthDay News) A stepped exercise program results in modest improvements for symptoms of knee osteoarthritis, according to a study published online Dec. 29 in the
Annals of Internal Medicine.
Kelli D. Allen, Ph.D., from the Durham VA Health Care System in North Carolina, and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial at two U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs sites involving 345 patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. Participants were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to either a stepped exercise program for patients with knee osteoarthritis (STEP-KOA) or an arthritis education control group. The STEP-KOA intervention included three months of an internet-based exercise program (step 1); three months of biweekly physical activity coaching calls (step 2) for those who did not meet response criteria for improvement in pain and function after step 1; and in-person physical therapy visits (step 3) for those who did not meet respon