Study: Knee OA? Get Walking!

The study, “Does the intensity of daily walking matter for protecting against the development of a slow gait speed in people with or at high risk of knee osteoarthritis? An observational study,” was published in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage.

Daniel K. White, P.T., Sc.D., M.Sc., assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Delaware and co-author on the study told OTW, “People with knee OA typically have knee pain, which can prevent walking at higher intensities. We wanted to examine if walking at a lower intensity, or light intensity, as well as a moderate to vigorous intensity protected against developing problems with function.”

The authors explained their process, “We used baseline and 2-year follow-up data from the Multicenter Osteoarthritis (MOST) study (n=1731) and the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI, n=1925). Daily walking intensity was objectively assessed using accelerometer-enabled devices, and classified as; not walking (<1 steps/min), very light (1-49 steps/min), light (50-100 steps/min), and moderate-to-vigorous (>100 steps/min)….”

“Replacing 20 min/day of not walking with walking at a moderate-to-vigorous intensity, demonstrated small to moderate reductions in the risk of developing a gait speed <1.0 m/s [meters per second] and <1.2 m/s. however, only risk reductions for <1.0 m/s met statistical significance. Replacing not walking with very-light or light intensity walking was not associated with the risk of developing slow gait outcomes.”

“It turns out,” says Dr. White, “that one needs to walk at a moderate to vigorous intensity to protect against developing a slow walk. People with knee OA, when able, should go for a walk. The good news is that most people when walking hit a moderate intensity.”

So, go for a walk, and build up your endurance!