Knee osteoarthritis is a common and increasing diagnosis that is contributing to an rapid rise in total knee arthroplasty surgery in the United States. Knee Osteoarthritis leads to disability in greater than 10% of those over 55 years, however manual therapy and exercise has shown to be twice as successful compared to a home exercise program in short term pain and function. More importantly, research has shown this Physical Therapy approach can postpone or prevent the need for knee replacement. One of most common complaints from patients with knee arthritis is pain with walking or ascending/descending stairs. Weakness of the quadriceps, hip adductors (inner thigh) and abductors (outer hip) are crucial to improving stair climbing and squatting ability.
A recent study (Hislop et al. 2019. Br J Sports Med) aimed to find the benefit of adding hip strengthening exercises to quad strengthening exercises among people with Knee Osteoarthritis. Authors randomized participants with knee arthritis into one of two groups: knee strengthening or knee and hip strengthening. Consistent with clinical practice, the authors found a decrease in patient related pain as well as improvements in patient function in patients who combined hip and knee strengthening exercises compared to knee strengthening exercises alone.
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