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People with arthritic knees could be in seven times less pain than their usual treatment by using an app, research at Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre has shown. Patients also reported nearly five times more physical function in the joint.

The study, of 105 over 45-year-olds in the East Midlands with knee osteoarthritis, compared exercises and education by physiotherapists using the app, with the standard NHS treatment of GP visits and advice. Patients using the app reported 41% less pain with the app compared to 6% without, and 48% more physical function, compared to 13% without the app.

The exercises and advice included encouraging users to sit and stand and climb the stairs, combined with educational messages, and one-to-one contact with a physiotherapist via the app.

The research, led led by Prof Ana Valdes from the Nottingham NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, used software developed by Swedish telehealth company Joint Academy and was backed by arthritis charity Versus Arthritis.

“The results of the study really show how much can be gained by treating chronic knee pain digitally - the interaction with a physio seems to help people keep exercising in a safe way which improves this condition,” said physiotherapy researcher Sameer Akram Gohir, who worked on the research.

Arthritis Research UK estimates that roughly 20% of the English population aged 45 and over suffer from osteoarthritis of the knee, and recommends information, exercise and weight control as the best first treatment.

The research was funded by Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre and Pfizer Inc, with additional support from Versus Arthritis.

The study, “Randomised controlled trial of Digitally delivered first-line knee osteoarthritis treatment: the Internet-based Exercises Aimed at Treating Knee Osteoarthritis (iBEAT-OA) study” is published here [ http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.0012?utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_term=022321].