Authors (including presenting author) :
Ng YW (1), Choi YK (1), Cheuk C (1), Lau CM (2), Lee MK (1), Fung PK (1), Sit WS (3), Leung KW (1)
Affiliation :
(1) Department of Family Medicine, New Territories East Cluster
(2) Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Prince of Wales Hospital
(3) The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Introduction :
Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common and debilitating condition. Though exercise is considered as first-line evidence-based treatment for KOA, physical inactivity is common among KOA patients and the prevalence could be up to 70%. It is worried that widespread precautionary measures during COVID-19 pandemic would further hinder KOA patients from participating exercises. Our study aims to investigate the exercise situation of KOA patients during COVID-19 period, which might shed light on the provision of KOA care under the pandemic.
Objectives :
To evaluate the exercise barriers in KOA patients during COVID-19 pandemic by assessing their self-perception of exercise level and barriers to exercise.
Methodology :
KOA patients who attended Family Medicine Specialist Clinic of Prince of Wales Hospital were recruited. Baseline characteristics including demographics, Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grades of knee X-Rays and symptom score using the Chinese version of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC® 3.1) questionnaire were collected. Patients were asked to self-rate whether they had enough level of exercise and choose their major barriers to exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Result & Outcome :
333 patients were recruited from May to August 2020. 117 (35.1%) were male and 216 (64.9%) were female with mean age of 67.36 ± 8.74. The mean BMI was 26.22 ± 4.11 and mean WOMAC scores was 93.3 ± 50.9.
240 (72.1%) patients indicated that they lack exercise during COVID-19 pandemic. The major barriers to exercise were: lack of motivation (N=61, 25.41%), pain (N=60, 25.1%), lack of time (N=34, 10.2%) and limitation by physical condition (N=17, 7.08%). Only 16 (6.67%) patients stated COVID-19 pandemic as major barrier. Patients who lack exercise were of younger age (P=0.018), higher proportion of female (P=0.010), had higher BMI (P=0.002) and higher WOMAC scores (P=0.01). There was no significant difference in KL grades of anteroposterior view (P=0.298) and skyline view (P=0.820) of knee X-Rays between 2 groups.
This study showed that most KOA patients thought that they lacked exercise during COVID-19 pandemic. The top barriers to exercise were lack of motivation and pain. With the problems of social and physical distancing measures, innovative strategies might be needed to motivate KOA patients to exercise during COVID-19 period.
