Patient-reported knee osteoarthritis problems and rehabilitation goals: A qualitative study.
Travis Haber, Jonas R Ahler, Penny K Campbell and 3 others
PMID 42685385WHAT IT FOUND
People with painful knee osteoarthritis named problems including pain, sleep, fear, walking, hiking, sport, housework, caring, and travel.
Their 3-month goals varied, often focused on walking, physical activity, daily tasks, and meaningful activities.
Key findings
01Worst knee problems were not only pain; they included emotional concerns, sleep problems, walking limits, and participation restrictions.
02Many participants' 3-month goals focused on walking more, walking as before, and returning to activity.
03Goals were broadly similar between females and males, with females more often reporting daily living goals and males more often reporting physical activity and sport goals.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The paper reports patient-reported problems and goals, not treatment outcomes. Seven participants did not complete the pre-consultation survey. Participants were explicitly asked about functional goals, which may have led to impairment goals such as pain reduction being underrepresented. The open-text questions did not explicitly ask about emotional, cognitive, or other psychosocial problems. This may explain why relatively fewer patients reported goals relating to emotional or mental health. Only English-speaking Australians were included. The study was nested within a physical therapy trial, so findings may not transfer to other healthcare settings.
Declared interests
The declared competing interest is that RSH is an unpaid member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Physiotherapy.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these goals as proof that a particular rehabilitation plan works. The study recorded what participants said before physical therapy, not what happened after treatment. These are patient-reported themes, not tested interventions.