The Effectiveness of Structured Rehabilitation. Program in Early Osteoarthritis Knee:A Randomized Control Study

Abstract Objectives- Osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of pain& disability The randomized controlled trial (RCT) was done to investigate whether a 12-week treatment program of structured rehabilitation program results in greater improvement in pain, function and Quality of life (QOL) compared with usual care in patients with early knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Design- The patients who were above the age of 40 with a diagnosis of Osteoarthritis of kneewere part of the study. The participants were randomized in 1:1 ratio into structured rehabilitation program group and usual care group using a computer-based randomization system. Results- All the 4 sub-scores showed improvement in both groups from baseline at the final follow-up. The change in pain score (11.6), symptom score (11) and QOL score (16.5) was significant in intervention group compared with control group in adjusted DID analysis. Age and gender were the two important factors influencing the reduction in KOOS scores. Conclusion: Structured exercise regimens should explored as a cost effective modality to ameliorate the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis and improvement in quality of life. Such an exercise programme should include isotonic, isometric and neuromuscular junction exercises. Patient education is also vital. The randomized controlled trial was registered with the Clinical Trials Registry – India (CTRI) under registration number CTRI/2023/07/055413 on 20/07/2023.