Article

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of exercise therapy on the walking ability of
individuals with knee osteoarthritis. DATA SOURCES: Randomised clinical trials
(RCTs) were identified by searching through PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of
Controlled Trials, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, and Cumulative Index to
Nursing and Allied Health Literature. All literature published to October 2014
were included in the search. METHODS: Data were collected from RCTs that
compared the effects of exercise therapy on walking ability with the effects of
no intervention or psychoeducational intervention in participants with knee
osteoarthritis. The outcome data on the total distance walked (6-minute walk
test); the amount of time spent walking (the time to walk arbitrary distances);
and gait velocity were obtained and analysed. Standardized mean differences
(SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. RESULTS: Twenty-eight
RCTs were identified. Meta-analysis provided very-low-quality evidence that
exercise therapy increased the total distance walked in the 6-minute walk test,
in comparison with the effects of the control interventions (SMD = 0.44, 95% CI
0.27 to 0.60). Meta-analysis also provided low- or moderate-quality evidence that
the amount of time spent walking and gait velocity were improved more by exercise
therapy than by the control interventions (the amount of time spent walking: SMD
= -0.50, 95% CI -0.70 to -0.30; gait velocity: SMD = 1.78, 95% CI 0.98 to 2.58).
CONCLUSION: In individuals with knee osteoarthritis, exercise therapy can improve
the amount of time spent walking, gait velocity, and maybe the total distance walked.
CI - (c) The Author(s) 2015.

Langue : ANGLAIS