The Effect of Glucosamine Usage Combined with Non-Traditional Exercise on the Ability to Meet Self-Care Requisities for Clients with Osteoarthritis of the Knee
Osteoarthritis (OA), a chronic mostly non-inflammatory disorder of the major weight-bearing joints is the most common joint disease in the United States. The knee joint is the most frequently involved in osteoarthritis. The prevalence of physician- diagnosed arthritis is estimated at 22.4 million of the adult population. Prevalence increases with age, female sex, being overweight or obese, and physical inactivity. The primary goals of managing OA of the knee are to control pain and to maintain or improve the knee joint’s range-of-motion and stability while limiting functional impairment. The current descriptive pilot study investigated how a multi-disciplinary complementary and alternative therapeutic (CAT) approach may effect the management of OA of the knee. Insights into the possible relationships between the use of CAT and the morbidity associated with OA of the knee were gained by documenting patient perceptions of the effects of CAT and exercise in those diagnosed with OA of the knee. Specifically, the goal of the study was to describe the correlations between the use of glucosamine hydrochloride, regular exercise, the practice of Tai Chi and yoga on the self- reported signs and symptoms and physical functioning in individuals with osteoarthritis of the knee. The study consisted of a 72-item voluntary anonymous online survey containing items related to pain, stiffness, activities of daily living, physical functioning and demographics. Results suggest that there might be an association between the use of more than one intervention and positive self-reports of improved signs and symptoms and physical functioning in individuals diagnosed with OA of the knee. Most respondents (45-63%) reported only mild pain when not engaged in activities such as running, jogging or bending the affected knee; or reported moderate to severe pain (45-54%) when going up and down stairs. Survey respondents reported knee stiffness (77.8%) and knee joint “giving away” or “catching” (55.6%) as their most prominent associated osteoarthritic symptoms. Respondents only reported a 30 - 40 % occasional difficulty with most of the specific ADL’s listed on the survey except for getting up and out a chair with no arms for which 36% responded always or frequently having difficulty. For stooping while doing housework the frequency was even higher 63.7% reported always or frequent difficulty. Only 30% of respondents reported combined use of glucosamine and either Tai Chi, yoga or regular exercise.
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