A Comparison of Manual Physical Therapy and Corticosteroid Injections for Knee Osteoarthritis (SMART)

• Western Ontario McMasters Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) [ Time Frame: 1 year ]
  The WOMAC is a self report questionnaire that asks patient to rate their pain, stiffness, and functional limitation associated with their condition. This instrument will provide important information about the self-reported pain and disability level of the patients in this study. The WOMAC is a recommended primary outcome measure in therapy trials of arthritic conditions, and is considered one of the most appropriate scales for trials evaluating knee osteoarthritis (OA). It is a reliable, valid, and responsive instrument widely used in clinical trials evaluating therapy for hip and knee OA
  
  

• Global Rating of Change (GROC) [ Time Frame: 1 Year ]
  The GROC questionnaire is a common, feasible, and useful method for assessing short term outcomes and overall changes in quality of life, and is a valid measurement of change in patient status in a variety of pain populations. The GROC has a 15-point scale with a change of positive three points or higher demonstrating clinically significant improvement in a patients perception of quality of life.
  
  
• Alternate Step Test (AST) [ Time Frame: 1 Year ]
  The Alternate Step Test is an inexpensive and efficient measure of dynamic postural stability and mobility. The AST requires participants to alternate feet and step 8 times (4 times for each foot) onto a 18 cm stool or step as rapidly as possible Recent evidence involving community dwelling adults also suggests that the AST has acceptable test-retest reliability (ICC=0.78) and potential as a fall risk assessment measure.
  
  
• Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) [ Time Frame: 1 Year ]
  The Timed Up and Go Test is a functional performance measure which directly evaluates an individual's ability to transfer, ambulate, and maintain balance during transitions. Individuals are timed on how quickly they can stand, walk 3 meters, turn around, and return to the chair and sit down. The TUG has good inter-rater and intra-rater reliability and validity for functional testing in older adults at risk for falls. The test is easy to administer and can be completed in two to three minutes.
  
  

The purpose of this study is to compare a commonly offered clinical approach of a series of intra-articular steroid injections to an orthopaedic manual physical therapy (OMPT) approach consisting of manually applied passive movement and reinforcing exercise for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee (knee OA). A second purpose is to validate a clinical prediction rule (CPR) for patients unlikely to respond to the orthopaedic manual physical therapy approach in a pre-planned secondary analysis of data from the randomized clinical trial.

Aim 1: To see if there is a significant difference in pain and function lasting out to 1 year for patients that receive a clinical approach consisting of a series of intra-articular steroid injections compared to those that receive a clinical approach consisting of orthopaedic manual physical therapy.

Aim 2: To validate a clinical prediction rule of characteristics identified in a previous preliminary study that predicted which patients with knee OA would be unlikely to respond to OMPT.