الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract The knee is one of the most commonly affected joint in osteoarthritis (OA), as it is exposed to high stress and use of the joint. Around 250 million people are affected by knee OA (KOA) worldwide. It affects patient’s physical function, dynamic balance and stability. Several factors are believed to have a role in affecting balance in patients with KOA such as muscle weakness, knee pain, decreased proprioception, limitation of joint range of motion and knee joint laxity. Physical exercise is the most recommended conservative treatment for patients with KOA. In patients with mild to moderate KOA, pain, physical function and dynamic balance have shown significant improvement after fulfilling an exercise program. There is lack of data regarding the effect of combined strengthening and balance exercise on patients with different severity grades of KOA. Previous studies either assessed effect of exercise on a specific severity grade of KOA or assessed effect of exercise on KOA patients regardless of their radiographic severity. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of combined balance and strengthening exercise program in patients with different severity grades of primary KOA. The study was conducted on eighty patients diagnosed with primary KOA according to the 2010 European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis of KOA. Patients were divided into four groups (20 patients each) according to knee severity based on Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) grading scale of KOA. |