Efeitos dos exercícios domiciliares em pessoas com osteoartrite de joelhos: uma revisão narrativa da literatura

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative disease and a major cause of disability in adults 50 years of age or older. Reduction of pain and improvement of functioning are the main purpose of knee OA treatment. Because of their chronic nature and often financial constraints to performing regular clinic visits, home exercise programs is commonly used. The present study aimed to perform a narrative review of the literature to investigate the evidence of the effect of home exercise programs on the outcomes of pain, stiffness, muscle strength, quality of life and functioning in people with knee OA. A literature review was conducted through PubMed and Bireme - Medline databases, including articles with the combination of following keywords: osteoarthritis, knee, exercise home based and rehabilitation. The reference lists were examined in order to identify potentially eligible articles. Twenty studies were included in this review, 19 were randomized controlled trials and one was a systematic review. According to results, the evidence suggests that home exercise programs provide benefits in terms of reducing knee pain, improving function, stiffness, muscle strength and quality of life in people with knee OA. The evidence base in the literature supports the effectiveness of a variety of home exercise programs, including strengthening, stretching, and orientations. It is a low-cost method that can promote improvement of health outcomes and functioning related to knee OA and has been increasingly important in the context of Brazil’s public health.