Hernandez Ruiz (2011) knee osteoarthritis (Spanish)

Objective

To compare the effectiveness of two schemes of rehabilitation(therapeutic pool and dry land gymnasium) in patients with a diagnosis of osteoarthritis of the knees.

Materials and method

Quasi-experimental design. Patients with osteoarthritis of the knees degree 1 and 2, were allocated to one of the interventions: therapeutic pool or gymnasium. The independent variables were age, gender and occupation. The dependent variables were items of the WOMAC questionnaire pre- and post intervention. The plan of analysis included: Student paired t-test, t-test for independent variables, linear multiple regression and calculation of qualification.

Results

We did not find statistically significant inter-group differences between the intervention group and the control group. Intra-group differences in both intervention group and control group were significant. (P <0.5).

Conclusions

It was shown that both interventions have significant results for patients with osteoarthritis of the knees; with slightly better results for the patients with obesity in the gymnasium. In order to choose a method for rehabilitation it’s necessary to consider the weight of the patient.

Keywords: Exercise, osteoartrosis, physical therapy, hydrotherapy