Authors (including presenting author) :
Tsang CL (1), Yeung HY (1), Wong MF (1), Hui N (1)
Affiliation :
(1) Occupational Therapy Department, United Christian Hospital
Introduction :
The KEC implemented a new program in General Out-patient clinic aiming to reduce the waiting time of UCH Orthopedics specialist out-patient clinic and enhance its efficiency in handling more serious illnesses. It adopted a collaborative model by modifying the existing Triage Clinic model and devising protocol-driven treatment program by Allied Health professionals. A self-management rehabilitation program for Knee Osteoarthritis (OA Knees) and Low Back Pain (LBP) was developed by the Occupational Therapy Department to i) empower patients to perform desired and optimal daily activities, ii) enable patients for the restoration of their life roles.
Objectives :
This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the self-management rehabilitation program on individuals with OA knee and LBP.
Methodology :
This retrospective analysis included 52 patients with LBP (age: 37-87) and 78 patients with OA knee (age: 41-90) who completed the self-management rehabilitation program from May 2021 to March 2024. Individuals presenting with recurrent OA knee and LBP were excluded from the study.
A structured self-management program was designed which includes:
- Group-based functional training lasted 60 mins, conducted weekly for 8-10 weeks
- Group-based chronic pain body mind class incorporating Health Qigong Baduanjin
exercises
- Educational class specific for OA knee / LBP condition
- Individual intervention on energy conservation, joint protection, activity
pacing, Bowen therapy, assistive device(s) consultation and prescription
A pretest and posttest design were adopted. Outcome instrument included sub-scores (Symptoms, Pain, Activities of Daily Living, Sport and Recreational and Quality of life) from the Hong Kong Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Scale (HK-KOOS) as well as functional disability score from the Oswestry disability index (ODI).
Result & Outcome :
Results:
The self-management program showed statistically significant improvement in Symptoms sub-score (mean score increased from 52.50 to 58.70, p = 0.01) and Pain sub-score (mean score increased from 51.12 to 58.19, p < 0.01) of HK-KOOS for patients with OA knee. The study also showed statistically significant improvement in ODI functional disability score (mean score decreased from 35.5 to 31.3, p < 0.05) for patients with LBP. Clinical improvement in quality of life and independency in activities of daily living for patients with OA knee were also showed upon completion of the program.
Conclusion:
The results suggest that the self-management program holds promise as a non-pharmacological intervention for functional enhancement and helped patients with OA knee and LBP to develop effective self-management strategies in restoration of their life roles. It is recommended that future studies include a randomized controlled trial and a larger sample size to further investigate the efficacy of this program.
