title: Effect of home exercise program performance in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or the spine on the visual analog scale after discharge from physical therapy.
abstract: The aim of our study was to assess the effect of the frequency of home exercise program (HEP) performance on pain [10-point visual analog scale (VAS)] in patients with osteoarthritis of the spine or knee after more than 6 months discharge from physical therapy (PT). We performed a retrospective chart review of 48 adult patients with a clinical diagnosis of knee or spine osteoarthritis and had been discharged from PT of the spine or the knee for at least 6 months with provision of HEP from a physical therapist. Adult patients who were younger than 50 years of age, taking more than one medication to control pain, participating in worker's compensation, or had a history of drug abuse were excluded from the study. We recorded patient demographics, pain level (10-point VAS scale), and the number of days that a HEP was performed per week. The mean VAS score of patients who performed 0 days of HEP per week was 6.90. The mean VAS score of patients who performed HEP 1-3 times per week was 6.36. The mean VAS score of patients who performed HEP 4-7 times per week was 5.00. Single-factor analysis of variance analysis indicated a P-value of less than 0.01. Post-hoc comparison of the mean VAS using Fisher's least significant difference test showed a significant difference between the mean VAS score of 4-7 days per week of HEP versus 0 days per week (P<0.01) and 1-3 days per week (P<0.01) of HEP. There was no significant difference in the mean VAS score between 0 days of HEP and 1-3 days of HEP (P>0.05). Patients who performed 4-7 days per week of HEP had statistically significant lower mean VAS scores than patients who performed 0 days per week of HEP and 1-3 days per week of HEP. Therefore, after 6 months of discharge from PT, patients should be encouraged to perform at least 4 days of HEP per week.
authors.affiliation: UCI Medical Center, Orange, California, USA. hchen82@gmail.com
authors.forename: Hamilton
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Onishi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016896:Treatment Outcome