Highly read articles from OARSI 2015

SEATTLE - The most highly read articles from Healio.com/Rheumatology’s coverage of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International World Congress on Osteoarthritis included several articles related to which patients benefit most from exercise and which do not.

Also of interest to readers was a presentation about patients’ perceived barriers to treatment and results of a trial that compared treatment approaches.

Multimodal OA treatment more effective than usual care for reduction of pain-related measures

A multimodal treatment consisting of neuromuscular exercise, education, diet, insoles and pain medication was more effective than usual care in reducing self-reported pain measures among patients with knee osteoarthritis, according to researchers at the Aalborg University in Denmark.

The researchers randomly assigned 100 patients with osteoarthritis (OA) who were not eligible for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) to either usual treatment or the multimodal treatment, called MEDIC. Usual care consisted of two informational leaflets provided with treatment advice. Forty-six patients completed usual care, and 43 patients completed the MEDIC treatment after 12 weeks. Read more.

Continuous walking for longer than 30 minutes may not benefit patients with knee OA

Walking continuously for more than 30 minutes increased serum cartilage oligomatrix protein and knee contact force compared with concentrations found in the same patients after walking with breaks, according to research presented here.

Twenty-eight patients older than 50 years of age with knee osteoarthritis (OA) were recruited to perform two walking procedures followed by measurement of knee contact force (KCF) and serum cartilage oligomatrix protein (COMP). The walking tests comprised one 45-minute session of continuous walking on a treadmill and three separate 15-minute rounds of walking with 1-hour rest periods between each round. Biomechanical data of ground reaction force and passive marker trajectories were recorded, and 5 mL blood samples were collected at baseline and at every 15 minutes of walking activity. OpenSim software was used to estimate KCF while walking. Read more.

Certain patients with acute knee injury history prone to collagen loss after moderate running

Lower activity scores and lower quality of life were predictive of collagen turnover and inflammation in patients with acute knee injury history after a running bout, suggesting that moderate running may not be tolerated by certain individuals, according to recently presented research.

Nicole M. Cattano , MPH, ATC, and colleagues studied two groups of pretest and posttest patients, which included 11 physically active individuals between the ages of 18 years and 25 years with acute knee injury history (AKIH) and 11 healthy control participants matched for age, sex and physical characteristics. Participants with AKIH were eligible for inclusion in the study if they had been diagnosed with an ACL or meniscal injury within 4 years of enrollment and cleared to participate in physical activity within 1 year of injury. Read more.

Habitual running not linked to knee OA progression

Patients older than 50 years of age with knee osteoarthritis who ran on a regular basis did not have an increase in pain or visible radiographic structural progression during a 4-year study period, according to research presented during the Osteoarthritis Research Society International World Congress on Osteoarthritis.

Grace Hsiao-Wei Lo, MD, and colleagues studied 1,251 participants with osteoarthritis (OA) who were older than 50 years of age at the time of diagnosis. The cohort included 138 runners, and patients who underwent knee replacement surgery were excluded. Read more.

Many patients with OA perceive barriers to treatment

Results of a poll on the Arthritis Society of Canada’s website showed many patients with osteoarthritis reported barriers to obtaining treatment, such as lacking health care coverage of certain costs and the perception that little efficacious care was available to them, according to data presented here.

The poll was commissioned to collect data about patient perceptions. Respondents were asked about their diagnosis; barriers and challenges to obtaining appropriate health care; preferences about physician involvement; and impact of the disease, including pain, fatigue and disability with social roles and activities. Read more.