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Abstract
Background
Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a leading cause of pain, disability, and impaired quality of life among older adults. Exercise therapy is recommended as the first-line conservative treatment; however, evidence regarding the combined effect of Stationary cycling and therapeutic exercises on patient-reported outcomes in elderly individuals remains limited.
Objective
To evaluate the effect of a combined stationary cycling and therapeutic exercise program on pain, symptoms, functional status, and knee-related quality of life in elderly individuals with knee osteoarthritis.
Methods
A prospective quasi-experimental pre–post interventional study was conducted among 51 elderly participants with Grade I or II knee osteoarthritis recruited from two outpatient physiotherapy centers in Islamabad, Pakistan. Participants underwent a supervised six-week rehabilitation program comprising stationary cycling and therapeutic exercises, delivered three sessions per week. Outcomes were assessed before and after the intervention using the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), including pain, symptoms, activities of daily living (ADL), sport and recreation, and knee-related quality of life. Data was analyzed using paired-samples t-tests, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05.
Results
Significant improvements were observed across all KOOS domains following the intervention (all p < 0.001). Mean pain scores improved from 53.82 ± 13.61 to 74.41 ± 15.99, symptoms from 52.73 ± 15.88 to 69.03 ± 15.65, ADL from 51.12 ± 16.43 to 70.57 ± 16.35, sport and recreation from 29.63 ± 18.71 to 47.04 ± 23.33, and knee-related quality of life from 38.58 ± 16.92 to 65.22 ± 18.42. The greatest relative improvement was observed in the quality-of-life domain.
Conclusion
A six-week supervised program combining stationary cycling and therapeutic exercises significantly improved pain, functional status, and knee-related quality of life among elderly individuals with knee osteoarthritis. These findings support the integration of low-impact aerobic exercise with therapeutic exercise as an effective conservative rehabilitation strategy for managing knee osteoarthritis.