Exercise Prescription for Knee Osteoarthritis‪.‬

Abstract The purpose of this paper was to review the literature regarding exercise for people with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and to provide practical and explicit guidelines regarding frequency, intensity, type, and duration of exercise for treatment of knee OA. A broad literature review was conducted to locate recent studies examining the efficacy of exercise in the management of knee OA. Decreased pain and discomfort as well as an increase in reported self-efficacy were the primary outcome measures. Specific exercise guidelines were created based on the results of all reviewed studies. Based on a review of recent literature, aerobic and resistance exercise is beneficial and has a positive effect on pain and self-efficacy for individuals with most types of knee OA. For those people with knee OA characterized by malalignment or laxity, there is concern that strengthening exercises may contribute to progression of knee OA. Exercise guidelines have been created that will enhance the positive effect of exercise for the patient with knee OA and should be implemented by a trained professional such as a kinesiotherapist. Future research is needed to define the types of exercise therapy to recommend to people with symptomatic knee OA based on patient and disease characteristics.