A Novel Approach to Improve Function in Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis - Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a leading cause of disability in the United States. One in every 22 adults in the United States has KOA. There is no cure for KOA except for total knee replacement surgeries. People with KOA have joint pain and increased muscle weakness which increases disability and reduces physical activity. Reduced activity can lead to other health conditions like cardiovascular disease and pain in other joints. Together, this deteriorates overall health and quality of life. One of the most commonly prescribed conservative treatments for individuals with KOA is exercise. However, individuals with KOA often report more barriers to exercise, including increased pain and limited access. Through this proposal, we investigate a novel intervention that would be accessible and cost-effective for individuals with KOA. Ischemic preconditioning (IC), also known as blood flow restriction and release, is an intervention that uses a blood pressure cuff around the thigh of the leg with KOA. The cuff restricts blood flow for 5-minutes and then release the cuff to allow blood to flow normally for 5-minutes. This restriction-release cycle is completed 5-times for a total of 50-minutes. This blood restriction-release intervention has shown to improve muscle strength and walking performance in stroke patients and other pathologic populations. However, no studies have used IC to evaluate changes in function and joint health in individuals with KOA. Therefore, the goal of this study is to assess changes in function and health after a repeated IC intervention. This study aligns with the mission of NIDILRR to generate new knowledge and promote the use and adoption of this knowledge to enable people with disabilities to perform activities within the community. The current proposal investigates the use of an innovative intervention that provides a new, low-cost approach to improve health and overall function in individuals who experience disability from KOA.
