The Effect of Mobilization With Movement on Pain and Function Among Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent form of arthritis and is reported to be the most important reason behind functional disability and musculoskeletal disorders among aged individuals. OA is "a total joint failure; represented by pathological damage to articular cartilage, that affects bone, menisci, synovium, ligaments, and neuromuscular tissue". Knee OA could be responsible for pain and functional disability in 19.2% of individuals aged more than 45 years in the Framingham study and in 27.8% of such individuals in the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project. However, in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), nearly 37% of individuals aged 60 years or older had radiographic knee OA. Oliveria et al. (1995) reported that age- and sex-standardized incidence rates of symptomatic hip, knee, and hand OA were 88, 240, and 100/100,000 person-years, respectively. In addition, the incidence rates of symptomatic OA of the knee, hand, or hip increased rapidly at age 50 and then levelled off beyond age 70. There were not enough data to report the prevalence of OA in Arabic countries. However, a cross-sectional study performed in Saudi Arabia demonstrated radiographic knee OA in 53.3% of men and 60.9% of women, while about 18% of women and 10% of men had symptomatic OA. Although it is well established that OA is mainly caused by damage occurring in the joint because of degeneration and inflammation, there is no known cure for OA and our understanding of the pathological aetiology of OA is still deficient and poorly understood.

The primary objective of this study is to investigate the immediate and the carry-over effect of MWM on pain and function in patients with knee OA. A secondary objective is to evaluate this effect among those patients who demonstrate features of central sensitization.