Several individual RCTs demonstrated clinical ly important improvements in pain and disability with aerobic exercise .
Other PT interventions demonstrated no sustained benefit .
Individual RCTs showed similar benefits with aerobic , aquatic , and strengthening exercise .
Adverse events were uncommon and did not deter participants from continuing treatment .
Low-strength evidence suggested that only a few PT interventions were effective .
BACKGROUND Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability .
Nonsurgical treatment is a key first step .
PURPOSE Systematic literature review of physical therapy ( PT ) interventions for community-dwelling adults with knee osteoarthritis .
A randomized crossover trial of a wedged insole for treatment of knee osteoarthritis.
OBJECTIVE In uncontrolled studies , a lateral-wedge insole has reduced knee pain in patients with medial knee osteoarthritis ( OA ) . The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of this simple , low-cost intervention for pain in patients with medial knee OA . METHODS We conducted a double-blind , r and omized , crossover trial design ed to detect a small effect of treatment . Participants were at least 50 years of age and had medial joint space narrowing on posteroanterior semiflexed radiographs and scores indicating moderate pain for 2 of the 5 items on the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index ( WOMAC ) pain scale . Participants were r and omized to receive a 5 degrees lateral-wedge insole or a neutral insole for 6 weeks . Following a 4-week washout period , participants crossed over to the other treatment for 6 weeks . Knee pain , the primary outcome , was assessed by the WOMAC pain scale ( visual analog scale version ) . Secondary outcomes included the WOMAC disability subscale , overall knee pain , 50-feet walk time , chair-st and time , and use of medications for knee pain . RESULTS Ninety patients were r and omized . The mean difference in pain between the 2 treatments was 13.8 points on the WOMAC pain scale ( 95 % confidence interval -3.9 , 31.4 [ P=0.13 ] ) . We observed similar small effects for the secondary outcomes . CONCLUSION The effect of treatment with a lateral-wedge insole for knee OA was neither statistically significant nor clinical ly important
Several individual RCTs demonstrated clinical ly important improvements in pain and disability with aerobic exercise .
Other PT interventions demonstrated no sustained benefit .
Individual RCTs showed similar benefits with aerobic , aquatic , and strengthening exercise .
Adverse events were uncommon and did not deter participants from continuing treatment .
Low-strength evidence suggested that only a few PT interventions were effective .
BACKGROUND Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability .
Nonsurgical treatment is a key first step .
PURPOSE Systematic literature review of physical therapy ( PT ) interventions for community-dwelling adults with knee osteoarthritis .