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• There is a lack of information about the effectiveness of foot-ankle muscle strengthening program on pain and functioning in people with KOA. • An 8-week foot-ankle muscle strengthening program decreased knee pain and enhanced physical function in individuals with KOA, presenting a potential to be clinically meaningful. • Foot-ankle muscle strengthening program can be a treatment option for individuals with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) who do not tolerate exercises with excessive load on the knee. Foot-ankle exercises could improve pain and function of individuals with KOA and need to be tested. To investigate whether an 8-week foot-ankle muscle strengthening program is effective for individuals with KOA to reduce pain and improve function. In this randomized controlled trial, individuals diagnosed with clinical and radiographic KOA were randomized into the intervention (supervised foot-ankle strengthening exercise program three times a week for 8 weeks) or control (usual care and recommendations of the healthcare team) group. Effectiveness was assessed by changes in clinical and functional outcomes between baseline and 8 weeks with pain as the primary outcome. ANCOVA tests using the intervention group as a reference and sex, body mass index, and baseline values as covariates assessed between-group differences. The intervention group showed lower pain scores (−4.4 units; 95%CI = −7.5, −1.1), better function (−7.1 units; 95%CI = −12.7, −1.4), higher total functional score (−11.9 units; 95%CI = −20.7, −3.1), with confidence intervals indicating a potential for the differences to be clinically meaningful, and better scores for the 30-s chair stand test (2.7 repetitions; 95%CI = 1.1, 4.1), with a confidence interval indicating a moderate clinically meaningful difference, compared to the controls. The 8-week foot-ankle exercise program showed positive, and potentially clinically meaningful, effects on knee pain and physical function among individuals with KOA, when compared to usual care. NCT04154059. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04154059 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine the short- (4 weeks) and long-term (6 month) effectiveness of Tibetan medicated bathing therapy in patients with post-stroke limb spasticity. Prospective, blinded, randomized controlled trial. Post-stroke patients with limb spasticity were recruited between December 2013 and February 2017 and randomly assigned 1:1 to a control group that received conventional rehabilitation (n = 222) or an experimental group that received Tibetan medicated bathing therapy in combination with conventional rehabilitation (n = 222). All patients received conventional rehabilitation. In addition, the experimental group received Tibetan medicated bathing therapy. The interventions were conducted 5 times per week for 4 weeks. The primary endpoint was changes from baseline after 4 weeks of therapy in muscle tone in the spastic muscles (elbow flexors, wrist flexors, finger flexors, knee extensors, ankle plantar flexors), as measured by the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS). The mean change from baseline after 4 weeks of therapy in the MAS score for the elbow flexors (P =.017), wrist flexors (P <.001), and ankle plantar flexors (P <.001) was significantly greater in patients in the experimental group compared to the control group. The benefit was maintained for 3 muscle groups (elbow flexors P <.001, wrist flexors P =.001, and ankle plantar flexors P <.001) and 6 months (elbow flexors P <.001, wrist flexors P =.002, and ankle plantar flexors P <.001) after therapy. All adverse events were mild, and no serious adverse reactions to Tibetan medicated bathing therapy were recorded. Tibetan medicated bathing therapy, in combination with conventional rehabilitation, has potential as a safe, effective treatment for the alleviation of post-stroke upper limb spasticity. Tibetan medicated bathing therapy was most advantageous for patients who had a baseline muscle tone score of 1+ to 2 on the MAS in the affected limb and recent onset of stroke (duration of the disease of 1-3 months). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]