Effect of isometric quadriceps exercise on muscle strength, pain, and function in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled study

Anwer S, Alghadir A · Journal of Physical Therapy Science

At 5 weeks the exercise arm had gained more isometric quadriceps strength (3.00 vs 0.04 on the strength gauge), lost more pain on the numerical rating scale (4.81 vs 1.71 points, from about 6 out of 10 in both arms) and improved more on the reduced WOMAC (16.66 vs 6.47 points), each p<0.001 between groups. The ultrasound-only arm improved as well, by roughly a third of the exercise arm's pain change.

Population

42 outpatients aged 40-65 with knee OA (13 men, 29 women), 21 per group

Intervention

Isometric quadriceps, straight-leg raise and isometric hip adduction, 5 days a week for 5 weeks, on top of ultrasound therapy

Comparator

Ultrasound therapy alone, with no exercise programme

Limitations

Small single-centre trial over 5 weeks with no active exercise comparator; the randomisation method and allocation concealment are not described, though the outcome assessor was blinded and neither arm was told what the other received. The reported standard deviations of the change scores are an order of magnitude narrower than those of the baseline measures they derive from. Funded by a King Saud University research group grant.