Knee Osteoarthritis: When should I start rehab?
Therapeutic exercise is recommended for the management of knee OA according to best practice guidelines. However, most research looking at exercise for knee OA have been performed in mixed populations where symptoms are ongoing for many years.
When chronic pain has already developed, and disability has become severe, initiating and maintaining exercise therapy and an active lifestyle can be difficult.
Key Points/Results:
This study demonstrated an overall small but positive effect in favour of exercise therapy compared to non-exercise controls on both short- and long-term pain and function in patients with knee OA.
Patients with knee OA with a relatively short symptom duration benefited more from the therapeutic exercise than those with a longer symptom duration.
There seems to be a “window of opportunity” in early-stage clinical knee OA, wherein exercise should be encouraged as early as possible once symptoms emerge in order to take advantage of its therapeutic effects.
People with short symptom duration of knee osteoarthritis benefit more from exercise therapy than people with longer symptom duration
If you are suffering from knee OA, our physiotherapists will be able to help setting up an exercise program to manage your symptoms. Book in at Horizon Physiotherapy on (08) 9245 7007 or admin@horizonphysio.com.au
