The SOAR (Stop OsteoARthritis) Program Proof-of-Concept Study

Adolescents and young adults who hurt their knees playing sports or doing recreational activities can develop joint damage, muscle weakness, inactivity, and weight gain which might lead to an increased risk of osteoarthritis (OA), a disabling joint condition in their later lives. Despite knowing that muscles and joints benefit from exercise, there is no proven exercise-based treatments to delay or even halt the onset of OA after a knee joint injury. The current study will assess if a physiotherapist-guided intervention called Stop OsteoARthritis (SOAR) improves knee muscle strength, physical inactivity, knee-related self-efficacy, and knee-related quality of life in people at risk for osteoarthritis due to a past knee injury. A total of 70 former knee injury participants will be randomly assigned to two groups. One group will immediately start a 16-week SOAR program, while the second will wait for 9-weeks before starting an 8-week SOAR program. Trained physiotherapists will deliver the SOAR program with videoconferencing. The study hypothesis is that participating in the 8-Week SOAR program will improve the knee muscle strength, physical activity levels, knee-related self-efficacy and knee-related quality of life in people discharged from regular healthcare after a sports knee injury. The findings will help researchers understand the ideal length of the program for a future clinical trial in real-world settings.