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Hand osteoarthritis (OA) is a common form of OA, for which education and exercise are considered the first‐line treatment. The aim of the present study was to examine pain and perceived hand function in participants following 3 months of digitally delivered first‐line treatment for hand OA. Three‐hundred‐and‐seventy‐nine of 846 participants with clinical signs and symptoms of hand OA completed the study. The digital hand OA treatment program consists of video instructed daily exercises and patient education through text lessons. Pain (NRS, 0 no pain, 10 worst) was the primary outcome, and stiffness (NRS) and the Functional Index for Hand OsteoArthritis (FIHOA, 0 best, 30 worst) were among secondary outcomes. The McNemar test and linear mixed effect regression model were used to assess the changes in outcomes from baseline to 3‐month. After three months, the digitally delivered program was associated with a significant decrease in pain intensity (mean change −1.30 (95% CI −1.49, −1.12)) and hand stiffness (mean change ‐0.81 (95% CI −1.02, −0.60)) but no conclusive changes in the FIHOA scores (mean change 0.3 (95% CI −0.2, 0.7)). The results agree with reports on face‐to‐face delivered first‐line treatment for hand OA suggesting that digital treatment is a viable treatment option in patients with hand OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the association between within-person changes in patient-reported outcomes (PROMs) and wish for joint surgery during participation in a digital first-line intervention comprising exercise and education for knee/hip osteoarthritis (OA). Retrospective observational registry study. Participants enrolled between June 1, 2018 and October 30, 2021, with follow-up data at three months (n = 13,961). We used asymmetric fixed effect (conditional) logistic regressions to study the association between change in wish to undergo surgery at last available time point (3, 6, 9, or 12 months) and improvement or worsening of PROMs pain (0–10), quality of life (QoL) (EQ5D-5L, 0.243–0.976), overall health (0–10), activity impairment (0–10), walking difficulties (yes/no), fear of movement (yes/no), and Knee/Hip injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score 12 Items (KOOS-12/HOOS-12, 0–100) function and QoL subscales. The proportion of participants wishing to undergo surgery declined by 2% (95% CI: 1.9, 3.0), from 15.7% at the baseline to 13.3% at 3 months. Generally, improvements in PROMs were associated with reduced likelihood of wishing for surgery, while worsening was associated with increased likelihood. For pain, activity impairment EQ-5D and KOOS/HOOS QoL, a worsening led to a change in the probability of wish for surgery of larger absolute magnitude than an improvement in the same PROM. Within-person improvements in PROMs are associated with reduced wish for surgery while worsenings with an increased wish for surgery. Larger improvements in PROMs may be needed to match the magnitude of the change in wish for surgery associated with a worsening in the same PROM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This study explored the association of patients' demographics, health status, symptom severity, previous osteoarthritis (OA) care, and psychological status with the change in pain severity following a first-line intervention including education and exercise for OA provided nationwide in Swedish primary care. Methods This register-based cohort study included 23,309 people with knee or hip OA from the Better Management of Patients with OA register. Linear regression models were used to assess the association of independent variables with the change in pain from baseline to 3 and 12 months. All the analyses were stratified based on the affected joint (hip vs knee). Results In people with hip and people with knee OA, high levels of baseline pain were associated with decreased pain at both follow-ups (3 months: knee B = −.67; hip B = −.64; 12 months: knee B = −.70; hip B = −.66), whereas being older, overweight, or female had a weak or no association. Finally, at both follow-ups, bilateral OA was associated with increased pain only in people with knee OA, whereas comorbidities and the willingness to undergo surgery were associated with increased pain regardless of the affected joint. Conclusions Baseline pain showed the strongest association among the analyzed variables, whereas sex, age, and body mass index appear to be weakly associated with the pain change after a first-line intervention. Comorbidities and willingness to undergo surgery showed a potentially important association and may have a negative impact on the pain change following a first-line intervention. Impact In people with hip or knee OA, age, sex, body mass index, and previous surgery are only weakly associated with the change in pain after a first-line intervention supporting the evidence recommending exercise and education as a foundation for all OA therapy. Having comorbidities and being willing to undergo surgery is associated with a worse outcome from a first-line intervention, including exercise and education. Individualized treatments addressing the disease perception and the specific comorbidity profile may improve the outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Decreased movement ability, one of the hallmarks of Parkinson disease (PD), may lead to inadequate physical activity (PA) and excessive time spent in sedentary behaviors--2 factors associated with an elevated risk for lifestyle-related diseases, poor management of PD, and premature death. To identify the extent to which people with PD are physically active, a comprehensive characterization of PA in this population is needed. Objective. The study objective was to describe levels and patterns of PA and sedentary behaviors in elderly people with PD. Design. This cross-sectional study involved a free-living setting and 53 men and 42 women (mean age=73-4 years) with mild to moderate idiopathic PD. Methods. Time spent in PA and sedentary behaviors was assessed for 1 week with accelerometers. Results. Mean daily step counts were 4,765; participants spent 589 minutes in sedentary behaviors, 141 minutes in low-intensity activities, 30 minutes in moderate-intensity lifestyle activities, and 16 minutes in moderate- to vigorous-intensity ambulatory activities. No differences were found between weekdays and weekend days. Patterns were characterized by a rise in total PA in the morning, peaking between 10 am and 3 pm, and a gradual decline toward the late evening. The proportion achieving 150 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA per week was 27%, and 16% achieved 7,000 or more steps per day. Limitations. Nonrandomized selection of participants may limit the generalizabil-ity of the results. Conclusions. Physical activity levels were generally low, in terms of both total volume and intensity, with only minor variations over the course of a day or between days. These results emphasize the need to develop strategies to increase PA and reduce time spent in sedentary behaviors in elderly people with mild to moderate PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Exercise and education is recommended as first-line treatment by evidence-based, international guidelines for low back pain (LBP). Despite consensus regarding the treatment, there is a gap between guidelines and what is offered to patients. Digital LBP treatments are an emerging way of delivering first-line treatment., Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate outcomes after participation in a 3-month digitally delivered treatment program for individuals with subacute or chronic LBP., Methods: We analyzed data from 2593 consecutively recruited participants in a digitally delivered treatment program, available via the national health care system in Sweden. The program consists of video-instructed and progressive adaptable exercises, education through text lessons, and a chat and video function connecting participants with a personal physiotherapist. The primary outcome was mean change and proportion reaching a minimal clinically important change (MCIC) for LBP (2 points or 30% decrease) assessed with the numerical rating scale (average pain during the past week, discrete boxes, 0-10, best to worst). Secondary outcomes were mean change and proportion reaching MCIC (10 points or 30%) in disability, assessed with the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI; 0-100, best to worst) and a question on patient acceptable symptom state (PASS)., Results: The mean participant age was 63 years, 73.85% (1915/2593) were female, 54.72% (1419/2593) had higher education, 50.56% (1311/2593) were retired, and the mean BMI was 26.5 kg/m2. Participants completed on average 84% of the prescribed exercises and lessons, with an adherence of ≥80% in 69.26% (1796/2593) and ≥90% in 50.13% (1300/2593) of the participants. Mean reduction in pain from baseline to 3 months was 1.7 (95% CI -1.8 to -1.6), corresponding to a 35% relative change. MCIC was reached by 58.50% (1517/2593) of participants. ODI decreased 4 points (95% CI -4.5 to -3.7), and 36.48% (946/2593) reached an MCIC. A change from no to yes in PASS was seen in 30.35% (787/2593) of participants. Multivariable analysis showed positive associations between reaching an MCIC in pain and high baseline pain (odds ratio [OR] 1.9, 95% CI 1.6-2.1), adherence (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.3-1.8), and motivation (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0-1.5), while we found negative associations for wish for surgery (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5-0.9) and pain in other joints (OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.7-0.9). We found no associations between sociodemographic characteristics and pain reduction., Conclusions: Participants in this digitally delivered treatment for LBP had reduced pain at 3-month follow-up, and 58.50% (1517/2593) reported an MCIC in pain. Our findings suggest that digital treatment programs can reduce pain at clinically important levels for people with high adherence to treatment but that those with such severe LBP problems that they wish to undergo surgery may benefit from additional support., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05226156; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05226156., (©Helena Hörder, Håkan Nero, Majda Misini Ignjatovic, Ali Kiadaliri, L Stefan Lohmander, Leif E Dahlberg, Allan Abbott. Originally published in JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology (https://rehab.jmir.org), 21.06.2022.)

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly prevalent group of disorders and among the most common causes of chronic pain and disability globally. First-line evidence-based treatments for hip and knee OA, two of the most common variants, are available in Sweden with the potential for wide national reach through face-to-face and digital platforms. Research results suggest important reductions in symptoms in patients with knee or hip OA. Despite evidence, availability and low cost, first-line evidence-based treatments are not utilized to the full extent to reduce the burden of OA.