Akgül Hakan, Birtane Murat, Tonga Eda
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Trakya University Faculty of Medicine, Edirne, Turkey.
Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Marmara University Faculty of Health Sciences, İstanbul, Turkey.
Musculoskeletal Care. 2025 Jun;23(2):e70085. doi: 10.1002/msc.70085.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a digitally supported physical activity (PA) intervention on pain, physical function, exercise adherence and quality of life in females with knee osteoarthritis (OA).
Thirty female participants with knee OA were randomly assigned to either a control group (n = 15) receiving patient education, smartwatch use, and a home exercise programme, or an intervention group (n = 15) receiving an additional digitally supported walking programme. The primary outcome measures were pain severity (Numerical Pain Rating Scale [NPRS]), physical function (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index [WOMAC]) and exercise adherence. Secondary outcomes included quality of life (European Quality of Life Scale 5 Dimensions/EQ-5D-3L), daily step count and pain catastrophizing (Pain Catastrophizing Scale/PCS). Assessments were performed at baseline and after 8 weeks.
The intervention group showed significantly greater improvements in pain severity (1.4 cm larger improvement on NPRS; p = 0.005), physical function (6.4-point larger improvement on WOMAC total score; p = 0.003) and daily step count (1548 steps larger improvement; p = 0.045) compared to the control group. Both groups demonstrated similar significant improvements in exercise adherence, pain catastrophizing, and quality of life (p < 0.05).
A digitally supported PA intervention, in addition to patient education and a home exercise programme, significantly improved pain, physical function and PA in females with knee OA. These findings support the efficacy of structured, supervised digital interventions for enhancing outcomes in this population. Future studies should explore strategies to enhance long-term adherence through digital PA interventions.
This study was conducted in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki (Clinical Trial Registry Number: NCT05810376).
本研究旨在调查数字支持的体育活动（PA）干预对膝关节骨关节炎（OA）女性患者的疼痛、身体功能、运动依从性和生活质量的影响。
30名膝关节OA女性参与者被随机分为对照组（n = 15），接受患者教育、使用智能手表和家庭锻炼计划，或干预组（n = 15），接受额外的数字支持步行计划。主要结局指标为疼痛严重程度（数字疼痛评分量表[NPRS]）、身体功能（西安大略和麦克马斯特大学骨关节炎指数[WOMAC]）和运动依从性。次要结局包括生活质量（欧洲生活质量量表5维度/EQ-5D-3L）、每日步数和疼痛灾难化（疼痛灾难化量表/PCS）。在基线和8周后进行评估。
与对照组相比，干预组在疼痛严重程度（NPRS改善幅度大1.4 cm；p = 0.005）、身体功能（WOMAC总分改善幅度大6.4分；p = 0.003）和每日步数（改善幅度大1548步；p = 0.045）方面有显著更大的改善。两组在运动依从性、疼痛灾难化和生活质量方面均有相似的显著改善（p < 0.05）。
除患者教育和家庭锻炼计划外，数字支持的PA干预显著改善了膝关节OA女性患者的疼痛、身体功能和PA。这些发现支持了结构化、监督性数字干预对改善该人群结局的有效性。未来的研究应探索通过数字PA干预提高长期依从性的策略。
本研究遵循赫尔辛基宣言进行（临床试验注册号：NCT05810376）。
