
Telerehabilitation of Patients After Knee Surgery
Knee OsteoarthritisThis project is aimed to investigate the feasibility of employing communication and sensor technologies for the patient after a knee operation. In the study, it is hypothesized that the effectiveness of postoperative rehabilitation programs might be improved by establishing electronic communication between healthcare professionals and the patients. It is also believed that users satisfaction and patients quality of life will be improved. The telerehabilitation program promises a synchronized communication as well as an individualized training program (by health professionals) based on the patient's electronic reports.

Effects of a Stretching Protocol in Patients With Hip Osteoarthritis
Hip OsteoarthritisHip osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent chronic disease in the world. Clinical guidelines recommend non-pharmacological conservative treatments for the management of OA. Hip flexors seems to play an important role in the development of hip OA but there is no published studies evaluating the results of a stretching protocol of hip flexors in hip OA patients. The objective of this trial is to evaluate if a stretching protocol of hip flexors is more effective in symptoms, functional capacity , range of motion, strength, muscular length, pain threshold and anxiety and depression compared to control. For this purpose the investigators conduct a single-group, pretest-posttest clinical trial.The investigators included patients diagnosed of hip osteoarthritis Grade I-III by Scale of Kellgren and Lawrence. The variables are measured at the beginning and at the end of treatment of the control phase, and at the end of the stretching protocol phase.

Saline Injections vs Education and Exercise in Knee Osteoarthritis
OsteoarthritisKneeKnee osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly prevalent musculoskeletal condition mainly affecting older people, causing pain, physical disability, and reduced quality of life. Exercise and patient education are non-pharmacological interventions for knee OA unanimously recommended by leading international organisations and authorities based on extensive research that documents that exercise and education are superior to no-attention control groups. In Denmark, an initiative to implement these recommendations was initiated in 2013. The initiative is called Good Life with osteoArthritis in Denmark (GLA:D) and aims at facilitating high quality care of patients with OA in the Danish population. The core components of the GLA:D program are 8 weeks of education (2 sessions) and supervised neuromuscular exercise delivered by GLA:D certified physiotherapists. The GLA:D concept has been exported to Canada, China and Australia. While several randomised controlled trials have investigated exercise and education for knee OA none have used a placebo comparison group. The effect size of exercise plus education therapy is in line with the current theories that the contact with a caring clinician that believes in efficacy of the treatments he/she provides can result in beneficial health effects. In exercise and education programs (such as the GLA:D program) frequent and lengthy contacts with a physiotherapist are typically necessary. Hence, a significant proportion of the beneficial effects can be expected to be attributable to placebo or placebo.like effects. In trials of intra-articular treatment of knee OA (e.g. in trials of corticosteroids, viscosupplementation, or platelet-rich-plasma) saline injections are a commonly used as placebo comparator. While saline is recognised as a pharmacologically inert agent, a recent systematic review and meta-analysis concluded that although intra-articular saline injection is often used as a "placebo" treatment in clinical trials for knee OA it can provide substantial pain relief. The effect size of saline injections is in line with the current theories that the "invasiveness" of a procedure is an important determinant for the magnitude of placebo effects. This trial aims to compare a widely used 8-week education plus exercise program (the GLA:D program) with 4 intra-articular saline injections as treatments of knee OA symptoms. Outcomes are taken at baseline, after 8-weeks of treatment (week 9) and after additionally 4 weeks of follow-up (week 12).

A Pragmatic Trial To Determine the Benefit of Exercise Incentives and Corticosteroid Injections...
Osteoarthritis of the KneeKnee osteoarthritis (KOA) is one of the most common and disabling conditions among Veterans. Management of KOA is challenging as there are few effective treatments other than joint replacement. Importantly, low levels of physical activity in patients with knee problems might worsen pain and disability. This study aims to determine the feasibility of using methods to change behavior that use social incentives and promote physical activity through playing games and interacting with a web-based platform. The study will also evaluate an important and widely used treatment, namely corticosteroid injections. Participants will be randomized into one of 4 arms and will receive a different combination of social incentives and injections. The study will evaluate which approach is most effective at promoting physical activity and reducing pain and disability.

Effects of Action Observation Therapy on Pain and Brain Hemodynamics in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis...
Knee OsteoarthritisAction Observation Therapy2 moreThe investigators aim to explore the effects of action observation therapy on pain and brain hemodynamics in patients with knee osteoarthritis. This study will create a new perspective to understand the physiology of pain, by applying painful stimulation during the neuroimaging system which has attracted much interest in the literature in recent years, and will shed light on the studies that can be done in this regard. Participants' pain level will be assessed using Visual Analog Scale and pressure algometer. Also joint range of motion in the initial assessments will be measured by electro-goniometer, muscle strength assessment by JTech hand dynamometer at appropriate evaluation positions. Fear of movement of individuals will be assessed via Tampa Kinesiophobia Scale and functional levels will be assessed via Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the Timed Up and Go Test. Functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) will be used for evaluation of brain hemodynamics. The first group, will receive exercises with action observation therapy; and the second group will receive only exercises. The exercise programme will be administered under physiotherapist supervision for three days a week for six weeks. The evaluations will be repeated at the beginning of the study and at the end of the sixth week. Data obtained from the study will be analyzed using appropriate statistical methods.

Core Activation and Stabilization for Knee OA
OsteoarthritisKneeThis will be the second investigation by the PI and sub-investigator on this topic, following the promising results of a pilot study on a small sample size (N=5) completed last year. Whether or not core stabilization influences gait impairments in patients with KOA remains to be seen. Core stabilization has been shown to have positive effects, including increased stride velocity and scores on functional tests like the Functional Reach Test and Timed Up and Go, in older adults. Older adults were also shown to have high compliance with a core stability training program. A systematic review indicated that core training is important to consider when treating older individuals to improve functional use of the extremities, improving participation in activities of daily living, and as part of a fall prevention program. Additionally, it has been shown to benefit young, active individuals in preventing anterior cruciate ligament injury and greater duration of improved outcomes in patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome. Athletes with decreased core control have been shown to be at an increased risk of knee injury as well. One potential cause for this is the ability of the core to improve lower extremity kinematics when activated during challenging single leg weight bearing activity. A recent publication by Azuma, et al. did indicate that paraspinal and anterior abdominal thinning had a negative predictive relationship to the presence of KOA; however, no investigation has explored a cause and effect relationship between core stability/stabilization training and the presence or severity of KOA, nor the gait and functional ability of patients with KOA. This later concept is the focus of this investigation.

Effectiveness of Five Intraarticular Strategies on Knee Osteoarthritis
Osteo Arthritis KneeBACKGROUND: Current medical treatment strategies for knee osteoarthritis (OA) are aimed at pain reduction and symptom control. The Non-Arthroscopic Joint Lavage (NAJL) is included inside the therapeutic algorithm of knee OA when other therapies are contraindicated or have lost effectiveness. The large variety of potentially invasive interventions available (joint lavage included) has raised the need to assess their efficacy. The objective of this study is to compare the short-term effectiveness of five treatment strategies in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: It was conducted a randomized prospective study involving 150 patients of whom 76.7% were females. The age range was 40-81 years. All patients had knee OA according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria, with Kellgren-Lawrence radiographic grades II and III. Patients were assigned to five groups, 1) non-arthroscopic joint lavage (NAJL) (n= 30), 2) NAJL plus hyaluronic acid (HA) (n= 32), 3) NAJL plus corticosteroid (CS) (n= 32), 4) HA (n= 31), 5) CS (n= 25). Evaluations took place at baseline, one and three months after enrollment. Demographic variables, Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and Lequesne scores were recorded. Statistical analysis included mixed analysis of variance, post-hoc comparisons with Sidak's adjustment, and multiple linear regression using as outcome WOMAC total at 3 months. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The protocol of the study was approved by the "Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía" Ethics Committee, under the number 1996, in the Minutes 208 of 29 May 2012.

Footwear and Exercise for Knee Osteoarthritis (FiREwORK Trial)
Knee OsteoarthritisOsteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative joint disease and leading cause of musculoskeletal pain and disability worldwide. The high rates of knee replacement surgery worldwide emphasize the need for more effective non-surgical interventions to attenuate progressive disability. International scientific and professional societies also propose that therapies need to seek efficacious combinations of modalities with the ultimate aim to achieve longer-term, optimal and synergistic treatment effects. Exercise therapy, such as strengthening and aerobic exercise, is universally, and strongly, recommended as it demonstrates beneficial effects on clinical symptoms and is considered safe for all patients with knee OA. However, during activities as simple as walking, higher knee joint loads have been demonstrated in people with medial tibiofemoral OA, a common form of knee OA. Increased joint loading as such may elicit aggravated symptoms and accelerated joint structural decline over time. No convincing evidence exists to confirm exercise therapy effectively alters joint loading parameters during walking gait in people with knee OA. Notably, recent studies suggest that wearing appropriate footwear may help offload the joint in people with knee OA, a strategy that is also easily applicable at a wide population level. The purpose of this clinical study is to compare 9-month treatment consisting of exercise therapy and daily wear of one of two shoe classes (flat flexible shoes or stable supportive shoes), on symptom relief and joint structural damage in people with knee OA. In this study, we will randomly allocate eligible participants in one of two treatment arms. This means there will be an equal amount of participants in each group, and participants nor researchers will be able to choose in which group participants will end up in.Participants in both groups will enroll in a 9 month exercise program and will be provided a pair of one of the two shoe classes to wear daily. To ensure an unbiased appraisal of treatment effects, we will not disclose the study hypotheses to participants during the intervention period. The results of this study will help determine whether the addition of appropriate footwear to exercise therapy improves symptom relief and/or slows structural disease progression in people with knee OA.

Effects of Lateral Wedge Insoles, Knee Taping on the Management of Knee Osteoarthritis
Medial Compartment Knee OsteoarthritisKnee osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative, progressive and wide spread disease, which may lead the patient to severe outcomes e.g. pain, loss of joint motion, inflexibility, disability and decreases the quality of life (QOL). As it affects the adults of older age, therefore should be emphasized.Effectiveness of Mulligan knee taping, lateral wedge insoles and traditional physical therapy(Ultrasound therapy with stretching and strengthening exercises) with home exercises as baseline treatment were assessed through RAPA and complete KOOS questionnaire.

Multiple Ascending Doses (MAD) of Anti-A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase With Thrombospondin Motifs-5...
OsteoarthritisKneeThe study will be conducted in participants with symptomatic knee OA to explore the safety, tolerability, immunogenicity, pharmacokinetics (PK), and pharmacodynamics (PD) of MAD of M6495.