A Pilot Randomized Trial of Different Weekly Applications of Kinesthesia, Balance and Agility Exercise Program for Individuals with Knee Osteoarthritis

Abstract

Background: This pilot study was conducted to determine the feasibility of a large-scale randomized controlled trial to examine the effectiveness of different weekly applications of kinesthesia, balance and agility (KBA) exercises for knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: Eighteen knee OA patients were randomly assigned to three groups of six patients: Twice-weekly KBA, thrice-weekly KBA, and control (conventional physical therapy) for six weeks. Feasibility outcomes included recruitment rate, retention/dropout rate, report of adverse events, pain (Visual Analog Scale for pain), and physical function (Ibadan Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis Outcome Measure). Descriptive statistics and a 3 × 2 (treatment group × time) mixed-model ANOVA were applied to analyze the data. Results: The recruitment rate was 66.6%. Retention rates for the three groups ranged from 90 – 100%. No serious adverse events were reported throughout the study. Pain and physical function significantly improved (P < 0.05) in all the groups post-intervention, except for the conventional physical therapy group, which showed no significant improvement in the physical function (P > 0.05). However, inter-group difference was not significant in all the clinical outcomes evaluated (all P > 0.05). Conclusions: This study suggests the feasibility of a large-scale randomized controlled trial to examine the effectiveness of different weekly applications of KBA exercises among knee OA individuals, with minor amendments.