Lower Quadriceps Rate of Force Development Is Associated With Worsening Physical Function in Adults With or at Risk for Knee Osteoarthritis: 36-Month Follow-Up Data From the Osteoarthritis Initiative.

This was an observational cohort, so it shows association, not that higher RFD caused less functional decline or that training would help. The positive finding was for self-reported WOMAC-PF worsening, not for walking or chair-stand performance. Follow-up was only 36 months, and the authors note functional decline can be slow, which may have made objective changes harder to detect. Analyses used fewer participants than the included cohort because some lacked baseline RFD or follow-up outcome data. RFD was measured only isometrically, and the sample was limited to people with or at risk for knee OA in the Osteoarthritis Initiative cohort.

No author conflict-of-interest declaration is included in the supplied text. The article is listed as supported by NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.

Do not conclude that power training will prevent worsening physical function. This study only observed that higher baseline quadriceps rate of force development was associated with less worsening on a self-reported function scale, and it did not find the same association for walking or chair-stand performance.