Abstract
Objectives: Knee is the largest weight bearing joint in the body and thereby is affected by diseases such as osteoarthritis more frequently. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a 4 week physiotherapy exercise program, designed to improve quadriceps muscle strength and girth, and to observe its effect on knee pain and activities of daily life through a pre and post exercise analysis in patients with knee joint osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: Thirty patients diagnosed with knee joint osteoarthritis irrespective of gender, over the age of 45 and less than 75 years were recruited for the study. Initially knee joint pain severity was assessed using the VAS (visual analogue scales) and WOMAC questionnaire was used to assess the activities of daily living. The thigh circumference was measured in centimeters. Data was analyzed by SPSS 20. Results: Mean age of osteoarthritis patients was 54 years. There was a statistically significant, reduction in knee pain (p=0.001), improvement of quadriceps muscles girth (p=0.012) and an improvement of daily living activities (p=0.001) after engaging in the physiotherapy exercise program. Conclusion: A four week guided quadriceps muscle strengthening exercise program can significantly increase the quadriceps muscles girth and knee joint stability and reduce pain and improve the activities of daily living in patients with knee OA.
Highlights
The knee joint is one of the largest joints in the body and is a complex synovial joint of the hinge variety
The knee is the joint most commonly affected by this disease and is characterized by joint pain that increases with activity, night pain, morning stiffness, limited joint motion, reduced muscles girth, crepitus, soft tissue swellings, deformity and reduction of physical function [3]
The WOMAC questionnaire designed according to the McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index was used to assess the activities of daily living [9]
Summary
The knee joint is one of the largest joints in the body and is a complex synovial joint of the hinge variety. It is a weight bearing joint and tends to get affected by diseases such as osteoarthritis (OA). OA is regarded as a degenerative joint disease characterized by reduction of the thickness of the articulate cartilage in a focal manner [1]. It is diagnosed commonly in adults over the age of 40 years and it's reported that most people will have some features of OA in their weight-. The knee is the joint most commonly affected by this disease and is characterized by joint pain that increases with activity, night pain, morning stiffness, limited joint motion, reduced muscles girth, crepitus, soft tissue swellings, deformity and reduction of physical function [3]
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