Impairment-targeted exercises for older adults with knee pain: a proof-of-principle study (TargET-Knee-Pain)

Self-reported Instability in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Scoping Review of Literature

BACKGROUND

Knee Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disabling musculoskeletal condition among the elderly. Self-reported instability is one of the impairments associated with osteoarthritis. A complete understanding of the self-reported instability in knee OA is essential, to identify the best strategies for overcoming this impairment. The focus of this scoping review is to provide an overview of evidence supported information about the prevalence and other associated features of selfreported instability in Knee OA. A broad search of the database PubMed with keywords such as knee osteoarthritis and instability resulted in 1075 articles. After title abstract and full-text screening, 19 relevant articles are described in the review. Overall, there is less amount of published literature on this topic. Studies reported prevalence rates of more than 60% for self-reported instability in knee osteoarthritis, which causes functional deterioration and high fear of falls. The most probable causative factors for self-reported instability in knee OA were altered sensory mechanisms and decreased muscle strength.

CONCLUSION

To conclude, self-reported knee instability in knee OA requires thorough evaluation and directed treatment with further studies providing rationalistic evidence-based management strategies. The current literature regarding self-reported knee instability is summarized, highlighting the research gaps.

The Effect of Self-Management Educational Program on Pain Intensity in Elderly Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Clinical Trial

BACKGROUND

Osteoarthritis is one of the chronic diseases that greatly affect the health and life quality of individuals.

AIM

This study aimed to determine the effect of self-management educational program on the pain intensity of the elderly patients with knee osteoarthritis.

METHODS

In a randomised clinical trial, a total of 82 elderly patients with knee osteoarthritis were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. The intervention group received six sessions of self-management group education, while the control group received only the routine care during this period. In both groups, patients' pain intensity, with a visual analogue scale (VAS), were assessed before, immediately after and eight weeks after the start of the study.

RESULTS

The mean pain intensity scores of the intervention and control groups were not significantly different before the intervention (P = 0.9), but after the intervention, the mean pain intensity score in the intervention group (3.61 ± 2.36) was significantly lower than that of the control group (4.93 ± 2.00), (P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

Implementation of a self-management program for the patients with knee osteoarthritis is useful in reducing their pain intensity and can be used as one of the effective methods for their empowerment.

Immediate effect of subliminal priming with positive reward stimuli on standing balance in healthy individuals: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Information received subconsciously can influence exercise performance; however, it remains unclear whether subliminal or supraliminal reward is more effective in improving standing balance ability when priming stimuli are subconsciously delivered. The present study aimed to compare the effects of subliminal priming-plus-subliminal reward stimuli (experimental) with subliminal priming-plus-supraliminal reward stimuli (control) on standing balance ability.

METHODS

This was a single-blind (outcome assessor), parallel-group, randomized controlled trial involving healthy young adults recruited from a university in Japan. Assessments were conducted at baseline and immediately after intervention. The primary outcome was the functional reach test (FRT) measurement. The secondary outcome was one-leg standing time (OLST) with eyes closed. Of the 52 participants screened, 25 were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups each.

RESULTS

Both interventions were effective for improving the FRT between the baseline and intervention; however, smaller improvements were observed in the experimental group. We found a large between-groups effect size immediately after the intervention for the FRT (d = -0.92). In contrast, there were no differences in improvements in OLST between the 2 groups (d = -0.06); furthermore, neither intervention was found to be effective for this parameter.

CONCLUSION

We concluded that subliminal priming with conscious reward stimuli results in improvements in immediate-term forward reach ability, which is superior to that achieved by subliminal priming with subconscious reward stimuli.

Lower Physical Performance in Colder Seasons and Colder Houses: Evidence from a Field Study on Older People Living in the Community

The aim of this paper was to explore the effect of seasonal temperature differences and cold indoor environment in winter on the physical performance of older people living in the community based on a field study. We recruited 162 home-dwelling older people from a rehabilitation facility in the Osaka prefecture, Japan; physical performance data were available from 98/162 (60.5%). At the same time, for some participants, a questionnaire survey and a measurement of the indoor temperature of individual houses were conducted. The analysis showed that there were seasonal trends in the physical performance of older people and that physical performance was worse in the winter compared with the autumn. Furthermore, people living in colder houses had worse physical performance. The findings indicate that keeping the house warm in the winter can help to maintain physical performance.