Patient is a 70-year-old male that presents with bilateral knee pain. Patient states the pain in both of his knees has been progressively getting worse over the last 10 years. About 5 years ago, he had bilateral knee arthroscopies to clean out the joints. Last year, he had a Synvisc injection with some relief. The patient has limited knee ROM with bilateral genu varum. He states that if he is on his feet for any period of time he needs to sit down. The patient has morning stiffness. If he rides his stationary bike for a few minutes, the knee pain subsides for a little. He finds pool exercises are helping. The x-ray shows bilateral decreased joint space. Which of the following activities would be the most helpful for this patient?
A. Squats past 90 degrees
B. Jogging
C. Swimming
D. Stair climbing
Answer: The best choice is answer C. Patients with arthritis do well in the pool. There is decreased joint compression.
For more information see Chapter 195: Knee Arthritis in The Color Atlas of Physical Therapy.
Create a Free MyAccess Profile
AccessMedicine Network is the place to keep up on new releases for the Access products, get short form didactic content, read up on practice impacting highlights, and watch video featuring authors of your favorite books in medicine. Create a MyAccess profile and follow our contributors to stay informed via email updates.