Aqua cycling in knee osteoarthritis.

Rationale:

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is a common musculoskeletal disorder. Patients can exercise to alleviate pain and maximize functional abilities. In order to stabilise the increase of patients with severe limitations and high disability due to OA, it has been emphasized to focus on preventive strategies that modify the progression of the disease at an early stage.



Objective:

What is the effect of a twelve week aqua cycling course on self-reported physical functioning, knee pain, knee stiffness, quality of life, physical activity, and self-efficacy, fear of movement, muscle strength and functional capacity compared to a no intervention control group? Are patients satisfied with the set-up and impact of a twelve weeks aqua cycling programme?



Study design:

A single-blind, randomized, controlled trial
Study population: 168 patients with early knee OA, with a prescription for conservative treatment and sufficient physical and mental health, willing to participate in an aqua cycling exercise programme, will be included.



Intervention:

Patients will be randomly assigned to a control group receiving usual care of the Early OA Outpatient Clinic or to an aqua cycling programme, which will be carried out in addition to usual care. The exercise programme will be carried out for twelve weeks with two 45-minutes sessions weekly.



Main study parameters:

The primary outcome is the difference between the aqua cycling group and the control group at baseline, twelve weeks post-intervention and three months follow-up measurements of self-reported physical functioning and knee pain.

The combination of hydrotherapy and cycling for knee OA seems obvious. It is hypothesized that an aqua cycling training programme will be successful in improving physical functioning and reducing knee pain in patients with knee OA.

Baseline, 12 weeks post-intervention, three months follow-up.

Both the intervention and the control group will fill in a diary during four weeks at the beginning of the intervention and during the last weeks of the intervention.

Patients will be randomly assigned to a control group receiving usual care of the Early OA Outpatient Clinic or to an aqua cycling programme, which will be carried out in addition to usual care. The exercise programme will be carried out for twelve weeks with two 45-minutes sessions weekly.