New video rehabilitation exercise programme launched to support people with knee osteoarthritis treated with Arthrosamid®

A NEW online rehabilitation exercise tool has been created by leading specialists Contura Orthopaedics Ltd to help people with knee osteoarthritis (OA) with their recovery post-treatment with revolutionary hydrogel injection Arthrosamid®. To provide the best support and expertise, Contura Orthopaedics Ltd has teamed up with two of London’s leading physiotherapists Charlie Goodchild and Nick Guth, who have developed an easy-to-follow video tutorial rehabilitation programme to give people the confidence to engage in – and get more out of – their exercise-led recovery.  The programme, which is free to access, provides exercise demonstrations with expert advice and is now available for patients to join up and download. 

It is estimated that 10 million people live with osteoarthritis and from these figures, it can be extrapolated that about 5.4 million of those people are living with this degenerative disease in their knees¹. And, each year in the UK, an estimated 350,000 people will be diagnosed with osteoarthritis, with 55 being the average age when symptoms are noticed¹. 

Knee osteoarthritis can’t be cured, but with a long-term commitment to exercise, there is a better chance of living a more active life that is less affected by knee pain. Deciding what to do to help manage knee osteoarthritis can be difficult – but without doubt, exercise is proven to help strengthen muscles and support joints. 

The burden of knee osteoarthritis is an increasing issue, a fact supported by the key findings of a national opinion poll² commissioned by Contura Orthopaedics Ltd, which shone a light on the levels of anxiety surrounding joint problems and a worrying misconception of “inevitability”, with 80% of respondents fearing that joint pain is just an unavoidable part of getting older. 67% of people go on to say it was their “biggest concern” about ageing, above dental issues (37%) or hair loss (26%). Almost a quarter of people (22%) questioned said that joint pain makes it harder for them to sleep or take part in pastimes such as gardening or golf - but when asked about effective ways of managing their pain, almost half (48%) said that they worry about the long-term effect of prescribed pain killers.

Contura Orthopaedics Ltd has created three exercise plans aimed at different groups (a short questionnaire has been designed to help you identify the right level):

• Early stage: for those that haven’t exercised much before or not for a long time and for those that have higher levels of discomfort during movement 
• Intermediate: for people who’ve exercised moderately in recent years and have less discomfort in day-to-day activities
• Advanced: for those who have been regularly active for many years and may have used a gym to keep fit in the recent past  

The three-step programme is designed to be accessed wherever you are – so your plan can be followed at home, in the gym or on holiday, meaning you can consistently “show up” improving the chances of improvements over time.  Each programme gives a video “explainer” with an overview of each exercise – such as “Sit to Stand”, “Split Squat” and “Single Leg Glute Bridge” - as well as guidance on cardiovascular training including frequency and form of rowing, cycling and walking using equipment such as the treadmill, where available. For example, on the early-stage plan, the advice is to aim for a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiovascular activity per week. 

It’s recommended that exercises are done every other day but sometimes doing them less often is also fine (rest is important if you feel soreness or pain after exercising). What is important though, is for people to make these exercises a part of their weekly routine and progress through the stages when they feel able to. The best exercise plan is the one that you can stick to over a long period of time! 

An initiative commissioned by Contura Orthopaedics Ltd, the rehabilitation programme has been designed specifically to support patients following treatment with an innovative hydrogel injection treatment called Arthrosamid® but is suitable for everyone with knee osteoarthritis (from early to later stage). This injection has been hailed as a “game changer” by experts and offers a real alternative to surgery.  Supported by more than two decades of research³, Arthrosamid® is suitable, safe and effective for most patients with knee OA^4-11 – and is proven to maintain a significant, long-lasting reduction in knee OA pain even four years post-treatment.⁴

Rakesh Tailor, CEO of Contura Orthopaedics Ltd comments: “With joint replacement surgery having previously been the only option for those with late-stage knee OA, Arthrosamid® is widely acknowledged as redefining treatment for patients living with knee pain – helping people to “Move Freely, Live Fully”.  Arthrosamid® is administered via a simple, one-step procedure performed under local anaesthesia by a qualified physician, such as an orthopaedic surgeon or rheumatologist¹¹ — ensuring you’re in and out of the clinic the same day. It is a non-surgical treatment with improvements to mobility and reduction in pain noticed within weeks, but post recovery is vital to help maintain these improvements to quality of life. We care deeply about all our patients and are committed to doing everything we can to make sure people get the best results from their Arthrosamid® injection in terms of improvements to quality of life. We’re extremely proud to be able to offer this new online exercise tool - an exciting initiative born from that drive to support patients with expert advice.” 

Charlie Goodchild, physiotherapist and co-creator of the exercise rehab plan, from healthcare business Better comments: “Knee osteoarthritis can be a difficult diagnosis to accept, with the constant pain disrupting sleep, affecting daily movement and limiting participation in some more extreme or intense team sports. For people who have always been active, this limited mobility, and persistent pain can be frustrating and start to affect mental health. There’s a common misconception that you should protect and rest arthritic joints. What this leads to is the breaking down and weakening of muscle, tendons, and cartilage. If you don’t use it, you lose it! The truth is that movement is good for everybody at any stage of arthritis. The key is to choose exercise that is best suited to your current abilities and crucially to follow a plan that has been created by a specialist with a good understanding of how the joints work and respond to exercise.”

Nick Guth, physiotherapist specialist in knee pain and injury adds: “We’re passionate about educating patients on the power of exercise to strengthen and support the knee – and to bring a better range of movement and mobility throughout the whole body. Each person will require a different dose of exercise to achieve optimal results. It requires just the right amount of difficulty so that you fatigue your tissues, which triggers an adaptive response within your body which strengthens the tissues and helps them cope better the next time. It’s finding the “goldilocks” zone that’s “just right” for you - too little leads to the wastage of tissue and too much may cause a flare up.”

^References: 

^{1. Versus Arthritis: 2023 State of MSK Health Report.}

^{2.  An online survey was conducted by Atomik Research among 1,504 respondents from across the UK. The research fieldwork took place on 11th March – 12th March 2024. Atomik Research is an independent creative market research agency that employs MRS-certified researchers and abides by the MRS code.}

^{3. References on file.}

^{4. Bliddal, H., et al. (2024) A Prospective Study of Polyacrylamide Hydrogel Injection for Knee Osteoarthritis: Results From 4 Years After Treatment. Presented at EORS 2024.}

^{5. Bliddal, H., et al. (2023) A Prospective Study of Polyacrylamide Hydrogel Injection for Knee Osteoarthritis: Results From 3 Years After Treatment. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. Vol 31(5): 682-683.}

^{6. Bliddal, H., et al. (2022). A Prospective Study of Polyacrylamide Hydrogel Injection for Knee Osteoarthritis: Results From 2 Years After Treatment. Poster presented at OARSI 2022. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. Vol 30(1): S371-S372. DOI:10.1016/j.joca.2022.02.499.}

^{7. Bliddal, H., Beier, J., Hartkopp, A. et al. Effectiveness and safety of polyacrylamide hydrogel injection for knee osteoarthritis: results from a 12-month follow up of an open-label study. J Orthop Surg Res 19, 274 (2024).}

^{8.  Bliddal, H., et al. (2021) Polyacrylamide Hydrogel Injection for Knee Osteoarthritis: A 6 Month Prospective Study. J Orthop Res Ther. Vol 6 (2). 1188. ISSN 2575-8241} 

^{9. Bliddal, H., et al. (2024) 3-year follow-up from a randomized controlled trial of intra-articular polyacrylamide hydrogel injection in subjects with knee osteoarthritis. Poster LB-31, OARSI 2024 World Congress on Osteoarthritis.}

 ^{10, Bliddal, H., et al. (2022). One-year performance of polyacrylamide hydrogel vs. hyaluronic acid: A randomised controlled study. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, Vol 30, S1, S371.} 

^{11. Arthrosamid®, Instructions For Use (IFU) Release Date March 2022. 10082-003.}

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