Unilateral and Bilateral Knee Osteoarthritis Exhibit Different Kinematic but Similar Pain and Strength Responses to an Exercise Intervention

SIMILAR PAIN AND STRENGTH RESPONSES TO AN EXERCISE INTERVENTION 1 Kathryn Mills, Sean Osis, Blayne Hettinga and Reed Ferber Running Injury Clinic, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta Canada email: [email protected] INTRODUCTION Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent and disabling disease defined by disrepair of joint tissue and subsequent breakdown of bone and cartilage [3]. Exercise interventions focusing on strength of the hip and knee musculature are frequently advocated in the management of knee OA to subsequently reduce pain associated with the disease. In intervention studies, individuals with unilateral and bilateral symptoms are often treated in the same group [1]. However, recent cross-sectional evidence that those with unilateral and bilateral OA exhibit different kinematic patterns during walking [5] questions this allocation. What is unknown is whether these cross-sectional differences result in different responses in pain, strength and kinematic outcomes after a conservative rehabilitation program. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to determine if individuals with unilateral or bilateral symptomatic mild-to-moderate knee OA responded differently to a 6-week muscle strengthening rehabilitation program.