Effectiveness of a Web-Based Physical Activity Intervention in Patients With Knee and/or Hip Osteoarthritis: Randomized Controlled Trial Bossen, Veenhof, EC Van Beek, et. al have an original paper published at JMIR. Yesterday I posted another study from JMIR “Electronic Word of Mouth on Twitter About Physical Activity in the US: Exploratory Infodemiology Study” which looked at how Twitter and Twitter users drive and support exercise. This study examined a fully automated Web-based physical activity in patients with knee or hip osteoarthritis compared to a control group. The authors measured improved levels of physical activity and self-perceived effect.
Here is the closing paragraph from Principle Findings section. When you consider the authors note that to date their are no Web-based physical activity interventions for these patients this study seems be pointing to a step forward.
As there is no cure for OA, self-management is considered a key element in the nonpharmacological treatment of knee and/or hip OA. Self-management aims to motivate OA patients to undertake changes necessary to improve physical and psychological well-being. Although the importance is generally acknowledged, provision of self-management is underutilized. Given the clinically relevant benefits and the self-help format, Join2move could be a key component in the effort to enhance self-management in sedentary patients with knee and/or hip OA. Considering the unique potential to reach large populations through Join2move, even the small effects observed in this study could have clinical public health consequences. Besides the focus on outside-care populations, patients in a care setting may also benefit from Join2move. Therefore, future work should integrate and investigate Join2move in a health care environment.