A quadriceps isometric contraction exercise method is effective for relieving pain in knee osteoarthritis (OA), according to a study published online May 25 in the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases.
Lanfeng Huang, from the Second Hospital of Jilin University in Changchun, China, and colleagues enrolled 250 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of knee OA and randomized them to an exercise treatment test group (128 patients) and a traditional treatment control group (122 patients). The test group used quadriceps isometric contraction exercise, while the control group used local physical therapy and oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.