High-dose therapy is not superior for most outcomes, except for the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score for function in sports and recreation
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 25, 2023 (HealthDay News) — For patients with knee osteoarthritis, high-dose exercise therapy is not superior to low-dose exercise therapy for most outcomes, according to a study published online Jan. 24 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Tom Arild Torstensen, R.P.T., from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues compared high-dose and low-dose exercise therapy with respect to knee function, pain, and quality of life in a randomized superiority trial involving patients with long-term symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. A total of 189 patients were assigned to high-dose therapy (11 exercises; 70 to 90 minutes; 98 participants) or low-dose therapy (five exercises; 20 to 30 minutes; 91 participants).
The researchers observed improvement in both groups over time; in most comparisons, there were no benefits seen for high-dose therapy. One exception was in the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score for function in sports and recreation, with superiority noted for high-dose therapy at the end of treatment and at six-month follow-up. There was also a small benefit seen in quality of life at six and 12 months.
“The results from this superiority trial did not support our hypothesis that high-dose exercise is superior to low-dose exercise,” the authors write. “This study adds to the evidence about the effects of exercise dosage on outcomes in knee osteoarthritis and provides novel and important information.”
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