Study: Education, exercise improve knee OA with or without prior surgery

Editor's Note

Knee osteoarthritis patients experience similar clinical outcomes from supervised education and exercise programs regardless of whether they have undergone knee surgery before, according to a study published in Clinical Rheumatology. Helio reported the news November 13.

The cohort study analyzed data from 30,545 patients enrolled in the Good Life with Osteoarthritis in Denmark (GLA) registry. This program combines patient education with group-based neuromuscular exercise therapy. Participants (mean age 65 years, mean BMI 29 kg/m²) included 27% with prior knee surgery, a population at higher risk for knee OA and often associated with deficits in muscle strength and impaired knee function. Assessed up to three months after treatment, clinical outcomes included knee pain intensity (via visual analog scale), joint-related quality of life (via KOOS QOL subscale), and walking speed (40-meter fast-paced test), Helio reports.

Both groups—those with and without prior knee surgery—achieved improvements in all measures. Notably, no clinically relevant differences emerged in the likelihood of meeting thresholds for “minimal important change,” defined as a 15 mm reduction in pain, a 10-point KOOS QOL improvement, or a 0.095 m/s increase in walking speed. According to the article, the findings indicate that first-line, non-surgical treatment options benefit all knee OA patients similarly. Researchers emphasized the importance of setting realistic expectations for outcomes, affirming that supervised education and exercise therapy remain effective regardless of prior knee surgery.