Behavioural graded activity results in better exercise adherence and more physical activity than usual care in people with osteoarthritis: a cluster-randomised trial

Question: Does behavioural graded activity result in better exercise adherence and more physical activity than usual care in people with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee? Design: Analysis of secondary outcomes of a cluster-randomised trial with concealed allocation, assessor blinding, and intention-to-treat analysis. Participants: Two hundred patients with hip and/or knee osteoarthritis. Intervention: Experimental group received 18 sessions of behavioural graded activity over 12 weeks and up to 7 booster sessions over the next year. The control group received 18 sessions of usual care over 12 weeks according to the Dutch physiotherapy guideline. Outcome measures: Exercise adherence was measured using a questionnaire and physical activity was measured using the SQUASH questionnaire at baseline, 13, and 65 weeks. Results: Adherence to recommended exercises was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group at 13 weeks (OR 4.3, 95% Cl 2.1 to 9.0) and at 65 weeks (OR 3.0, 95% Cl 1.5 to 6.0). Significantly more of the experimental than the control group met the recommendations for physical activity at 13 weeks (OR 5.3, 95% Cl 1.9 to 14.8) and at 65 weeks (OR 2.9, 95% Cl 1.2 to 6.7). Conclusion: Behavioural graded activity results in better exercise adherence and more physical activity than usual care in people with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee, both in the short- and long-term. Trial registration: NCT00522106. [Pisters MF, Veenhof C, de Bakker DH, Schellevis FG, Dekker J (2010) Behavioural graded activity results in better exercise adherence and more physical activity than usual care in people with osteoarthritis: a cluster-randomised trial. Journal of Physiotherapy 56: 41-47]