Osteoarthritis (OA) of the Knee
Conditions
Keywords
running, exercise
Brief summary
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating disease affecting millions worldwide. Exercise is a core treatment for knee OA, and is advocated by all clinical guidelines. Running is a common exercise that is accessible and evokes a number of positive physical and psychological benefits. However, the appropriateness of recreational running in the presence of knee OA is unclear. A growing literature base appears to suggest that running may not be deleterious to the health - especially at the knee joint - of people with knee OA. Our recent research has focused on examining a number of health outcomes relevant to knee OA in older individuals with knee OA, but has been limited to experienced runners. This study will address that limitation by focusing on how novice (new) runners respond to a new running program.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALRunning volume increase
Participants will receive a 6-month running program focusing on gradual increases in weekly running volume (no more than 5% per week, on average). For the purpose of this study, there will be no specific instructions on 'how' to run; rather, participants will simply be instructed on 'how much' to run.
Sponsors
University of British Columbia
Study design
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
35 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
(all): * have been running consistently for no more than six months at time of enrolment, with a cumulative weekly volume of less than 5 kilometres OR have yet to take up recreational running consistently * are comfortable running and walking on a treadmill for at least 30 minutes Inclusion criteria (knee osteoarthritis (OA) group): * have definitive knee OA as diagnosed using x-rays * report having experienced frequent knee pain over the past 3 months Inclusion criteria (Control group): * have no evidence of knee OA based on x-rays * have had pain-free knees for at least the past 3 months
Exclusion criteria
(all): * have an inflammatory arthritic condition (e.g. gout or rheumatoid arthritis) * have a presence of any health condition (other than OA in the knee OA group) affecting normal movement or that precludes engaging in moderate to high impact activities such as running Additionally,
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| T2 relaxation time - medial tibia | Baseline and 6 months | Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the knee cartilage will be used to measure the exponential decay/dephasing of transverse magnetization of protons, known as T2 relaxation time (measured in milliseconds). Cartilage will be segmented into a number of regions of interest, with relaxation times calculated separately for each region of interest. |
| T2 relaxation time - medial femur | Baseline and 6 months | Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the knee cartilage will be used to measure the exponential decay/dephasing of transverse magnetization of protons, known as T2 relaxation time (measured in milliseconds). Cartilage will be segmented into a number of regions of interest, with relaxation times calculated separately for each region of interest. |
| T2 relaxation time - patella | Baseline and 6 months | Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the knee cartilage will be used to measure the exponential decay/dephasing of transverse magnetization of protons, known as T2 relaxation time (measured in milliseconds). Cartilage will be segmented into a number of regions of interest, with relaxation times calculated separately for each region of interest. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| T1rho relaxation time - medial tibia | Baseline and 6 months | Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the knee cartilage will be used to assess the interaction between water and macromolecules. T1rho relaxation time (measured in milliseconds) measures how fast water protons spin-locked to macromolecules leave this locked state. Cartilage will be segmented into a number of regions of interest, with relaxation times calculated separately for each region of interest. |
| T1rho relaxation time - medial femur | Baseline and 6 months | Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the knee cartilage will be used to assess the interaction between water and macromolecules. T1rho relaxation time (measured in milliseconds) measures how fast water protons spin-locked to macromolecules leave this locked state. Cartilage will be segmented into a number of regions of interest, with relaxation times calculated separately for each region of interest. |
| T1rho relaxation time - patella | Baseline and 6 months | Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the knee cartilage will be used to assess the interaction between water and macromolecules. T1rho relaxation time (measured in milliseconds) measures how fast water protons spin-locked to macromolecules leave this locked state. Cartilage will be segmented into a number of regions of interest, with relaxation times calculated separately for each region of interest. |
| Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) - pain subscale | Baseline and 6 months | There are 9 questions in this subscale, with each question scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from "None" to "Extreme". The total sum of this subscale is calculated and divided by the maximum score to generate a score out of 100. Subscale totals range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating less pain. |
| Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) - function in daily living subscale | Baseline and 6 months | There are 17 questions in this subscale, with each question scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from "None" to "Extreme". The total sum of this subscale is calculated and divided by the maximum score to generate a score out of 100. Subscale totals range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating less pain. |
Countries
Canada
Contacts
CONTACTNatasha Krowchuk, BSc
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORMichael Hunt, PT, PhD
The University of British Columbia
Outcome results
None listed