Article

Impairment-based exercise programs have yielded only small to
moderate benefits in reducing pain and improving function in people with knee
osteoarthritis (OA). It has previously been proposed that adding agility and
perturbation training to exercise programs for people with knee OA may improve
treatment effects for pain and function. The purpose of this study was
to examine the effectiveness of adding agility and perturbation techniques to
standard exercise therapy compared with the standard exercise program alone for
people with knee OA. DESIGN: This was a single-blinded randomized controlled
trial. SETTING: The study was conducted in the outpatient physical therapy clinic
of a large, university-based health center. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred
eighty-three people with knee OA (122 women, 61 men) participated. INTERVENTIONS:
Participants were randomly assigned to either a group that received agility and
perturbation training with standard exercise therapy or a group that received
only the standard exercise program. MEASUREMENTS: The outcome measures were
self-reported knee pain and function, self-reported knee instability, a
performance-based measure of function, and global rating of change. RESULTS:
Although both groups exhibited improvement in self-reported function and in the
global rating of change at the 2-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up periods, there were
no differences between groups on these outcomes. There was no reduction in knee
pain or improvement in performance-based function in either group. LIMITATIONS:
It is possible that more-intense application of the interventions or application
of the interventions to participants with knee OA who were at greater risk for
falling may have yielded additive effects of the agility and perturbation
training approach. CONCLUSIONS: Both intervention groups exhibited improvement in
self-reported function and the global rating of change. Our results, however, did
not support an additive effect of agility and perturbation training with standard
exercise therapy in our sample of individuals with knee OA. Further study is
needed to determine whether there are subgroups of individuals who might achieve
an added benefit with this approach.

Langue : ANGLAIS