Despite an extensive literature on treatment interventions for patients with knee osteoarthritis, studies comparing the efficacy of different exercise interventions and living the life as usual on ...quality of life, cartilage quality and cost-effectiveness are lacking. The aim of the present study is to compare the efficacy of two different exercise programs compared to a control group in individuals with established radiographic and symptomatic knee osteoarthritis on self-reported knee-related quality of life, knee pain, physical function, and cartilage quality.
A three-armed randomized controlled trial involving two exercise interventions and a control group of individuals doing as they usually do is described. The patients will have mild to moderate radiographic osteoarthritis according to the Kellgren and Lawrence classification (grade 2-3), and fulfill the American College of Rheumatology clinical criteria, be aged between 45 and 65 years, and have no other serious physical or mental illnesses. The patients will be randomly allocated to a strength exercise group; a cycling group, or a control group. The primary outcome is the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score knee-related quality of life subscale. Secondary outcomes include all five Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score subscales, morphological evaluation of cartilage including focal thickness, subchondral bone marrow edema, proteoglycan content and collagen degradation (measured using magnetic resonance imaging clinical sequences, T2 mapping and T1ρ), specific serum biomarkers, isokinetic muscle strength, maximal oxygen uptake, quality of life (EuroQol 5D), and self-efficacy (Arthritis Self-Efficacy Scale). A sample size calculation on the primary outcome showed that 207 individuals, 69 in each group, is needed to detect a clinically relevant difference of 10 points with 80% power and a significance level of 5%. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, 14 weeks, 1 year and 2 years post-randomization. The interventions will be a 14 weeks exercise program.
Although exercise therapy has been found to be effective in knee osteoarthritis, the knowledge of the underlying mechanisms for why exercise works is lacking. This study will contribute with knowledge on the efficacy of strength exercise versus cycling on patient-reported outcomes, cartilage quality and cost-effectiveness.
Clinicaltrial.gov Identifier: NCT01682980.
To make a cross-cultural comparison of the contents of rehabilitation goals of patients admitted for rehabilitation and to compare the contents with the comprehensive International Classification of ...Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Set for rheumatoid arthritis, by linking their contents to the ICF.
A random sample of 80 patients with rheumatoid arthritis was retrieved from rehabilitation clinics in 4 countries.
Rehabilitation goals were extracted from the medical records and linked to the ICF using standardized linking rules.
A total of 495 rehabilitation goals were identified and linked to 952 ICF codes, resulting in 151 unique ICF codes. Two-hundred and seventy-five (29%) of the 952 ICF codes were related to "Body Functions" (b-codes), 80 (8%) to "Body Structures" (s-codes), 419 (44%) to "Activities and Participation" (d-codes) and 178 (19%) to "Environmental Factors" (e-codes). Thirty-five of the 151 unique ICF codes (23%) were not in the comprehensive ICF Core Set for RA, whereas 23 of the ICF codes in this Core Set (24%) were not in the rehabilitation goals.
The goals set in a team rehabilitation setting for patients with rheumatoid arthritis are related to all ICF components, with "Activities and Participation" being the most frequently addressed. The contents of the goals are, to a considerable extent, covered by the comprehensive ICF Core Set for RA, but additional evaluation is required before the ICF Core Set is used as a rehabilitation tool in rheumatoid arthritis.
Abstract Objective Chronic nonspecific low back pain is accompanied by high rates of comorbid mental and physical conditions. The aims of this study were to investigate if patients with specific back ...pain, that is, sciatica caused by lumbar herniation, report higher rates of subjective health complaints (SHCs) than the general population and if there is an association between change in sciatica symptoms and change in SHCs over a 12-month period. Methods A multicenter cohort study of 466 sciatica patients was conducted with follow-up at 3 months and 1 year. Comorbid SHCs were measured by 27 items of the SHC inventory. Odds ratios (ORs) for each SHC were calculated with comparison to a general population sample ( n =928) by logistic regression. The SHC number was calculated by summing all complaints present. Results At baseline, the ORs for reporting SHCs for the sciatica patients were significantly elevated in 15 of the 27 items with a mean (S.D.) SHC number of 7.5 (4.4), compared to 5.2 (4.4) in the general population ( P <.01). Among those who during the 1-year follow-up period fully recovered from their sciatica, the SHC number was reduced to normal levels. Among those with persisting or worsening sciatica, the number increased to a level almost double that of the general population. Conclusion Compared to the general population, the prevalence of subjective health complaints in sciatica is increased. During follow-up, the number of health complaints increased in patients with persisting or worsening sciatica.
Hand osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent musculoskeletal diseases in an adult population and may have a large influence on an individual's functioning, health-related quality of life and ...participation in society. Several studies have demonstrated that exercises may reduce pain and improve functioning in people with knee OA, with a similar effect suggested for hip OA. For hand OA, available research is very limited and shows conflicting results, and high-quality randomised controlled trials are warranted.This paper outlines the protocol for a randomised controlled trial that aims to determine the effect of an exercise intervention on self-reported hand activity performance in people with hand OA.
Participants with physician-confirmed hand OA according to the ACR clinical criteria are being recruited from two Norwegian OA cohorts: the population-based "Musculoskeletal pain in Ullensaker Study" (MUST) OA cohort, and the hospital-based Oslo Hand OA cohort. Participants are randomised into an intervention- or control group. The control group receives "usual care", whereas the intervention group receives a 12-week exercise intervention. The intervention group attends four group sessions and is instructed to perform the exercise program three times a week at home. Adherence will be captured using self-report. During the eight weeks with no group sessions, the intervention group receives a weekly telephone call. The assessments and group sessions are being conducted locally in Ullensaker Municipality and at Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo. Outcomes are collected at baseline, and at 3 and 6 months. The primary outcome measure is self-reported hand activity performance at 3 months post-randomisation, as measured by the Functional Index for Hand Osteoarthritis (FIHOA); and a patient-generated measure of disability, the Patient-Specific Functional Scale (PSFS). Secondary outcome measures are self-reported OA symptoms (e.g. pain, stiffness and fatigue), the Patient Global Assessment of disease activity, measured hand function (e.g. grip strength, thumb web space and hand dexterity) and health-related quality of life. Cost-utility and cost-effectiveness analyses will be conducted.
This study will contribute to the knowledge on both the effect and resource use of an exercise programme with telephone follow-up on self-reported hand activity performance among people with hand OA.
The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov with registration number: NCT01245842.
The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between pain-related fear, pain disability, and self-perceived recovery among patients with sciatica and disk herniation followed up for 2 ...years.
Pain-related fear was measured by the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK) and the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire-Physical Activity (FABQ-PA) subscale. Disability was measured by the Maine-Seattle Back Questionnaire. At 2 years, patients reported their sciatica/back problem on a global change scale ranging from completely gone to much worse. No specific interventions regarding pain-related fear were provided.
Complete data were obtained for 372 patients. During follow-up, most patients improved. In those who at 2 years were fully recovered (n=66), pain-related fear decreased substantially. In those who did not improve (n=50), pain-related fear remained high. Baseline levels of pain-related fear did not differ significantly between those who were fully recovered and the rest of the cohort. In the total cohort, the correlation coefficients between the 0-2-year change in disability and the changes in the TSK and the FABQ-PA were 0.33 and 0.38, respectively. In the adjusted regression models, the 0-2-year change in pain-related disability explained 15% of the variance in the change in both questionnaires.
Pain-related fear decreased substantially in patients who recovered from sciatica and remained high in those who did not improve. Generally, the TSK and the FABQ-PA yielded similar results. To our knowledge, this is the first study that has assessed pain-related fear in patients who recover from sciatica.
Objective To compare the effectiveness of radial extracorporeal shockwave treatment with that of supervised exercises in patients with shoulder pain.Design Single blind randomised study.Setting ...Outpatient clinic of physical medicine and rehabilitation department in Oslo, Norway.Participants 104 patients with subacromial shoulder pain lasting at least three months. Interventions Radial extracorporeal shockwave treatment: one session weekly for four to six weeks. Supervised exercises: two 45 minute sessions weekly for up to 12 weeks.Primary outcome measure Shoulder pain and disability index.Results A treatment effect in favour of supervised exercises at 6, 12, and 18 weeks was found. The adjusted treatment effect was −8.4 (95% confidence interval −16.5 to −0.6) points. A significantly higher proportion of patients in the group treated with supervised exercises improved—odds ratio 3.2 (1.3 to 7.8). More patients in the shockwave treatment group had additional treatment between 12 and 18 weeks—odds ratio 5.5 (1.3 to 26.4).Conclusion Supervised exercises were more effective than radial extracorporeal shockwave treatment for short term improvement in patients with subacromial shoulder pain. Trial registration Clinical trials NCT00653081.
In evaluating complex interventions, it is a challenge for researchers to provide transparent reporting of the intervention content with sufficient detail and clarity such that effects can be ...compared across studies or countries.
To describe and compare the content of current rehabilitation for patients with inflammatory arthritis across 4 northern European countries.
A total of 731 patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases participated in a multicentre, longitudinal observational study carried out in Sweden, The Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. Data on context, structure and process were reported by patients and teams at the different participating study sites according to the Scandinavian Team Arthritis Register-European Team Intiative for Care Research (STAR-ETIC) framework.
Although large similarities were found in the context, there were important differences between the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries. Regarding structure, there were considerable differences in the length of the rehabilitation period across settings and countries. The most evident differences concerned process variables, especially the type and dosage of individual treatment modalities.
The variation in important aspects of arthritis rehabilitation found in the present study underline the need for transparent and standardized description of these variables when comparing effects across settings and countries. A standardized description of current practice can be achieved by the STAR-ETIC framework.
IntroductionLow back pain (LBP) is the health condition that carries the greatest disability burden worldwide; however, there is only modest support for interventions to prevent LBP. The aim of this ...trial is to establish the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of group-based exercise and educational classes compared with a minimal intervention control in preventing recurrence of LBP in people who have recently recovered from an episode of LBP.Methods and analysisTOPS will be a pragmatic comparative effectiveness randomised clinical trial with a parallel economic evaluation combining three separate cohorts (TOPS Workers, TOPS Primary Care, TOPS Defence) with the same methodology. 1482 participants who have recently recovered from LBP will be randomised to either a comprehensive exercise and education programme or a minimal intervention control. Participants will be followed up for a minimum of 1 year. The primary outcome will be days till recurrence of LBP. Effectiveness will be assessed using survival analysis. Cost-effectiveness will be assessed from the societal perspective.Ethics and disseminationThis trial has been approved by the University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) (ref: 2015/728) and prospectively registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ref: 12615000939594). We will also obtain ethics approval from the Australian Defence Force HREC. The results of this study will be submitted for publication in a prominent journal and widely publicised in the general media.Trial registration numberAustralian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ANZCTR) 12615000939594.
Knowledge about the prevalence and consequences of osteoarthritis (OA) in the Norwegian population is limited. This study has been designed to gain a greater understanding of musculoskeletal pain in ...the general population with a focus on clinically and radiologically confirmed OA, as well as risk factors, consequences, and management of OA.
The Musculoskeletal pain in Ullensaker STudy (MUST) has been designed as an observational study comprising a population-based postal survey and a comprehensive clinical examination of a sub-sample with self-reported OA (MUST OA cohort). All inhabitants in Ullensaker municipality, Norway, aged 40 to 79 years receive the initial population-based postal survey questionnaire with questions about life style, general health, musculoskeletal pain, self-reported OA, comorbidities, health care utilisation, medication use, and functional ability. Participants who self-report OA in their hip, knee and/or hand joints are asked to attend a comprehensive clinical examination at Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, including a comprehensive medical examination, performance-based functional tests, different imaging modalities, cardiovascular assessment, blood and urine samples, and a number of patient-reported questionnaires including five OA disease specific instruments. Data will be merged with six national data registries. A subsample of those who receive the questionnaire has previously participated in postal surveys conducted in 1990, 1994, and 2004 with data on musculoskeletal pain and functional ability in addition to demographic characteristics and a number of health related factors. This subsample constitutes a population based cohort with 20 years follow-up.
This protocol describes the design of an observational population-based study that will involve the collection of data from a postal survey on musculoskeletal pain, and a comprehensive clinical examination on those with self-reported hand, hip and/or knee OA. These data, in addition to data from national registries, will provide unique insights into clinically and radiologically confirmed OA with respect to risk factors, consequences, and management.
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