To test long-term effectiveness of neuromuscular exercise (NEMEX) with instructions in optimized pharmacological treatment (PHARMA) on activities of daily living (ADL) in patients with early knee osteoarthritis.
12-months follow-up from a randomized controlled trial. Participants with mild-to-moderate medial tibiofemoral knee osteoarthritis were randomly allocated to 8 weeks NEMEX or PHARMA. The primary outcome measure was the ADL-subscale of the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Secondary outcome measures included the other four KOOS-subscales, the University of California Activity Score (UCLA) and the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions.
Ninety-three patients (57% women, 58 ± 8 years, body mass index 27 ± 4 kg/m
NCT01638962 (July 3, 2012).
S-20110153.
No difference in improvement in difficulty with ADL was observed. NEMEX improved knee symptoms to a greater extent with half of patients reporting clinically relevant improvements. CLINICALTRIALS.