THE EFFECT OF NEUROMUSCULAR EXERCISES ON FUNCTIONALITY, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND BALANCE IN PATIENTS WITH OSTEOARTHRITIS: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY

Authors : Gülfem Ezgi Özaltın, Burcu Talu

Pages : 190-203

Doi:10.33715/inonusaglik.1390064

View : 73 | Download : 97

Publication Date : 2024-02-19

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This study was planned as single- blinded randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of neuromuscular exercises on functionality, physical activity, and balance in patients with osteoarthritis. Sixty patients with osteoarthritis were included. Patients were selected using the random sampling method and allocated to two groups: The experimental group (n=30), and the control group (n=30). The exercises were administered to both groups 6 days a week for 6 weeks, with one set under the physiotherapist’s control and two sets of home exercises repeated 10 times. Pain (VAS), physical activity level, functionality, and balance were evaluated before and after treatment. We found a significant difference in levels of functionality, pain (p <0.001), physical activity, and balance (p <0.05) in both groups at the end of our study. Although the above-mentioned parameters improved significantly in both the groups after treatment, the pre-and post-treatment evaluations in the experimental group were higher than those in the control group in a positive way (p <0.05). We postulate that in addition to classical physiotherapy, neuromuscular exercises are necessary for osteoarthritic patients and are more effective for pain and increased physical activity, function, and balance than conventional knee exercises.
Keywords : Artrit, Egzersiz, Fiziksel Aktivite, Propriosepsiyon, Rehabilitasyon