ONGOING PROJECTS

Physiotherapy and Biomechanics Research Unit

The Parker Institute has recently initiated the CANO project titled: "High-Intensity Cardiovascular Training and Biomechanical Neuromuscular Training as Treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Study."

In brief, the project aims to investigate the physiological benefits of engaging in training 2-3 times a week for 8-12 weeks for individuals with knee osteoarthritis who also suffer from one or more cardiovascular risk factors such as high BMI, elevated blood pressure, increased blood sugar, and high cholesterol.

The project is spearheaded by Professor Marius Henriksen and Postdoc Cecilie Bartholdy.

Supported by Sygeforsikring ”danmark” and The Oak Foundation, we are currently seeking potential trial participants. If you are interested in learning more or participating, please feel free to email Ph.D. student Mathilde Espe Pedersen at mathilde.espe.pedersen.01@regionh.dk along with your phone number. A project staff member will then contact you as soon as possible.

This study aims at measuring gait ataxia associated with opioid intake. Patients with knee OA and age matched healthy volunteers will be recruited and are required to meet for 3 all-day assessments. Measurements of gait ataxia (gait variability) will be recorded in the gait laboratory before and every hour for 6 hours after intake of two different kinds of opioids or placebo. The order of opioid/placebo is randomised. Further, the autonomous regulation of pulse and blood pressure is assessed every hour together with self-reported pain and dizziness, and a blood sample to estimate plasma concentrations of the active opioid.
We developed the Dynamic weight-bearing Assessment of Pain (DAP), a performance measure with integrated pain evaluation. The DAP is based on input from both patients and health professionals, ensuring the content validity and clinical relevance of the performance in the test (weight-bearing knee bends). Acceptable reproducibility of the DAP has been established in a population of people with mild knee OA, but other psychometric properties remain to be tested, including feasibility and interpretability in a clinical setting. The objectives to this study are to evaluate the feasibility of the DAP for patients with knee OA in clinical physiotherapy practice, and to investigate the interpretability of the DAP for patients with knee OA in clinical physiotherapy practice by estimating a cut-off score for a minimum clinically important change.
The Dynamic weight-bearing Assessment of Pain (DAP) for knee osteoarthritis is designed to measure pain during a specified function. It is a simple performance test (30 seconds of deep knee bends from a standing position), with subsequent pain rating on an 11 point numeric scale (0 = no pain, 10 = worst pain). Acceptable reliability, agreement and smallest detectable change of the DAP have been established. The objectives of this study is to estimate the construct (discriminative) validity, responsiveness and interpretability of the DAP.

Imaging Unit

Investigators

Elisabeth Bandak, Marius Henriksen, Mikael Boesen

Summary

In patients with knee OA retrospective data on Dynamic Contrast Enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) of the thigh and knee, systemic markers (blood samples, synovial fluids), assessments of mobility (muscle strength, Six-minute walk test, and biomechanical gait analysis) will be analyzed. Further, patient reported outcomes on pain, symptoms, and physical function in patients is acquired using questionnaires are available and will be included in the analyses.