One-year results of voluntary-based supervised exercise or treatment at orthopedic clinic for radiographic severe knee osteoarthritis

[Purpose] In this study, we investigated the efficacy of supervised physical exercise or conventional treatment on symptomatic knee osteoarthritis with severe morphological degeneration. [Subjects] Sixty-six patients with severe radiographic knee osteoarthritis were enrolled. [Methods] Participants were separated into two groups: in one group patients conducted physical exercise under supervision; while in the other group they were treated by conventional clinical methods for one year. Participants filled out two types of questionnaires; the Japanese Knee Osteoarthritis Measure and the Pain Disability Assessment Scale at baseline and one year following enrollment in the study. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance was used to examine the effects over time and by group for a total of 43 participants; consisting of an exercise group (n=20) and a clinical group (n=23) excluding 23 dropouts. [Results] Analysis did not show a significant time-course effect or interaction between time-course and the groups in both questionnaires. On the other hand, there were significant group effects in both questionnaires with an advantage in the exercise group. [Conclusion] These results indicate that patients with knee osteoarthritis under supervised exercise conditions are more likely to maintain a better clinical outcome at one-year follow-up, despite the severe morphological degeneration in their knees.