Remote Tai Chi for Knee Osteoarthritis

Launched by TUFTS MEDICAL CENTER · Apr 22, 2024

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying the effects of remote Tai Chi on knee pain for adults with knee osteoarthritis, a common condition that causes pain and stiffness in the knee joints. The researchers want to find out if adding Tai Chi sessions to regular care can help reduce knee pain and improve overall quality of life compared to just routine care alone. Participants will join online Tai Chi classes twice a week for 12 weeks, while others will continue with their usual treatment. Everyone will be followed for a year to see how they respond.

To participate, you must be at least 50 years old, have a doctor's diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis, and experience significant knee pain. You should also be able to attend online sessions and give your consent to be part of the study. However, if you're currently practicing Tai Chi, have certain serious health issues, or are enrolled in another clinical trial, you won't be eligible. This trial aims to provide valuable information about how remote Tai Chi could help manage knee pain and potentially reduce the need for medications or doctor visits.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Age 50 years or older
• • Treating clinician diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis
• • Have a score of 40 (visual analog version) or greater on at least 1 of the 5 questions in the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pain subscale (range of 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater pain) at baseline.
• • Able to provide informed consent
• • If randomized to the Routine Care group, willing to abstain from Tai Chi programs until completion of the study
• • If randomized to the Tai Chi group, willing to comply with the Tai Chi program (twice-a-week remote sessions for 12 weeks)
• • Has access to a home computer or device that will allow telehealth (bidirectional audio and video) delivery of the intervention
• • Is an active patient at one of the 4 participating healthcare system
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Currently practicing Tai Chi
• • Serious medical conditions (e.g., dementia, significant neurological deficits or neurodegenerative disorder, active cancer treatment, psychosis, sensory deficits) limiting the participant's ability to participate in the Tai Chi safely, as determined by the principal investigators
• • Unable to walk without a cane or other assistive device
• • Any previous or scheduled knee replacement
• • Reports severe depression defined by a Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) score of 29 or more.
• • Reports suicidal ideations defined by a score on BDI-II item of 2 or 3 ('I would like to kill myself' or 'I would kill myself if I had the chance').
• • Not English speaking
• • Enrollment in any other clinical trial within the last 30 days