Effect of Mobile Application-based Exercise Program on Pain and Functional Rehabilitation in Osteoarthritis Knee

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) knee joint is a prevalent degenerative disease, affecting the elderly population. Telerehabilitation (TR) services are now used as an adjuvant in modern physical therapy practice because of their feasibility in evaluating, treating, and remote monitoring of musculoskeletal disorders. The digital TR application may serve as an alternative handy tool for those with limited healthcare access. There is a need to evaluate the influence of digital mobile applications in improving pain and functional outcome measures in osteoarthritis knee. Materials and Method: Thirty OA knee participants were assessed in-person and recruited based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study. Participants were introduced to the CasaMed novel mobile application for the delivery of exercise-based intervention for 6 weeks. Participants were assessed at baseline and after 6th week of completion of the virtual care exercise-based program using the mobile application with numerical pain rating scale (NPRS) and Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scale. Paired t test was performed to analyze the changes in outcome measures. Results: The results of the present study showed statistically significant reduction in pain (< 0.001) and improvement in functional outcome measures, WOMAC scale (0.002) in patients with OA knee (p < 0.005). Conclusion: We have identified a potential digital platform- CasaMed, a novel mobile application that provides a virtual exercise program. Based on this study, we can conclude that the mobile application-based exercise program, shows a positive effect on providing TR at home for exercise delivery using a video-assisted virtual exercise program in patients with OA knee.