Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) refers to a clinical syndrome of joint pain, accompanied by varying degrees of functional limitation and reduced quality of life. It is, by far, the most common form of arthritis, and one of the leading causes of pain and disability worldwide. Aims & Objectives: To see and compare the effect of cycling and walking on pain, function and quality of life in patients with OA knee.
Materials and Methods: 30 patients were divided into 2 groups, 15 patients in each. Group A and Group B underwent conventional physiotherapy in the form of warm up exercises. Group A performed cycling and Group B did supervised walking for 30 minutes. Both the protocols were followed by a cool down period of stretching exercises for tendoachillis and hamstring. Pre and post treatment measurement of Visual Analog Scale for pain, Lequesne index for function and SF-36 scores for quality of life were documented for both groups.
Results: There was statistically significant improvement in VAS, Lequesne index and physical component of SF 36 scores in both groups. But there was no statistically significant improvement in mental component scores of Quality of life in either group. There was no statistically significant difference in outcome measures between both the groups. (p>0.05) Conclusion: Cycling and walking both are effective in treating patients with OA knee, and there is no difference in the effect of cycling and walking.