Digital health could be key to treating osteoarthritis, study finds

A new study has found that first-line treatment of knee osteoarthritis can be delivery digitally without the need for traditional face-to-face physiotherapy visits.

Researchers from the University of Nottingham used digital healthcare company's Joint Academy's clinical and evidence-based digital treatment for chronic joint pain to see how patients responded to the treatment when compared to traditional face-to-face physiotherapy. 

The study shows that UK patients receiving digital treatment reduced their pain by 41%, while the same number for patients receiving usual care landed at 6%.

A total of 105 people, who were 45 years or older with a diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis, participated in the study. They were allocated, at random, to two groups where one was treated digitally and the other group self-managed their symptoms according to NICE guidelines. Patients in the digital treatment were connected with licensed physiotherapists via a smartphone application where they received education and daily exercises. Patients in the other group continued their traditional self-management programme according to guidelines and visited their general practitioner when needed. In addition to experiencing substantially less pain than the control group, the patients receiving digital treatment also reported that their physical function increased by 48% —a stark improvement to traditional treatment where physical function increased by only 13%.

Leif Dahlberg, chief medical officer at Joint Academy and senior professor in orthopaedics, said: “We already knew that digital first-line treatment substantially improves symptoms of osteoarthritis at a significantly reduced cost compared to face-to-face care. This study is the first randomised controlled trial that demonstrates clinically important improvements of digital treatment compared to the traditional one and firmly establishes how effective digital treatment actually is in relation to traditional self-management care.”

Figures from the NHS show that nearly 9 million people are impacted by osteoarthritis in the UK alone and Arthritis Research UK estimates that roughly 20% of the English population aged 45 and over suffer from osteoarthritis of the knee, but the recommended first-line treatment, consisting of information, exercise and weight control when needed, is under-utilised.

Sameer Akram Gohir, physiotherapist and researcher at the University of Nottingham, said: “The results of the study really show how much can be gained by treating chronic knee pain digitally, and this will reduce the burden on the NHS, especially when we are going through the Covid-19 pandemic where services are already stretched. We hope this study allows health policy-makers to consider the potential in digital alternatives when it comes to treating knee arthritis.”

Dahlberg added: “The study shows the positive impact digital treatment has on the osteoarthritis burden for both patients and healthcare systems. Besides the beneficial outcomes in pain and physical function, the advantages of digital treatment are also lower costs and more easily accessible care for those living in remote areas far from the nearest physiotherapist.”