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Abstract
Objectives To determine whether the addition of a home-based exercise programme following a corticosteroid injection is of greater benefit in alleviating pain and restoring function than injection alone for patients with knee osteoarthritis.
Design Patients aged 60 years and above, diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis and presence of effusion, were randomly assigned to an experimental group or a control group. The experimental group received an intra-articular corticosteroid injection followed by instruction in simple home-based exercises at two, four and six weeks post-injection, whereas the control group received the injection alone. All subjects were measured for pain and function at two weeks post-injection and then re-measured at eight weeks post-injection.
Setting Primary care physiotherapy department.
Participants Thirteen subjects, eight in the experimental group and five in the control group, with twelve subjects completing the trial.
Main outcome measures Self-reported pain on a visual analogue scale (VAS), self-reported pain and function on the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMACTM) Osteoarthritis Index, range of movement of the knee using a goniometer, and time to complete a 15-metre walk test and sit-to-stand test.
Results The small sample size did not allow any valid comparison of effect.
Conclusions A larger study is required to determine whether there is additional value in providing knee osteoarthritis patients with a simple home-based exercise programme following administration of a corticosteroid injection.
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