Effectiveness of backward walking exercises combined with conventional rehabilitation programs on managing pain intensity and disability in patients with knee osteoarthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Background: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) causes pain and diminishes quality of life. Backward walking exercise (BWE) has been shown to improve lower muscle strength and reduce knee adduction moment, making it a recommended intervention for knee OA rehabilitation. This study aims to evaluate the effectiv...
| Published in: | Physiotherapy Theory & Practice Vol. 42; no. 1; pp. 217 - 232 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | research systematic review tables/charts Journal Article |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Jan2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=190648248&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 190648248 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 09593985 BCJ jtl: Physiotherapy Theory & Practice issn: 09593985 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jan2026 vid: 42 iid: 1 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania artinfo: ui: 190648248 187833201 190648248 190648248 10.1080/09593985.2025.2550532 190648248 ppf: 217 ppct: 15 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Effectiveness of backward walking exercises combined with conventional rehabilitation programs on managing pain intensity and disability in patients with knee osteoarthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. aug: au: Lin, Long-Huei Peng, Yi-Ling Yen, Ling-Wei Tsai, Yun-Lin Cheng, Chih-Hsiu affil: School of Physical Therapy and Graduate Institute of Rehabilitation Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROC sug: subj: Osteoarthritis, Knee Rehabilitation Therapeutic Exercise Methods Pain Prevention and Control Pain Management Methods Walking Functional Status Treatment Outcomes Evaluation Human Adult Middle Age Aged Systematic Review Meta Analysis PubMed Medline Physiotherapy Evidence Database Scales Visual Analog Scaling Publication Bias Walking Speed Treadmills Treatment Duration Severity of Disability Effect Size Confidence Intervals Regression Data Analysis Software Descriptive Statistics Funding Source Adult: 19-44 years Middle Aged: 45-64 years Aged: 65+ years ab: Background: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) causes pain and diminishes quality of life. Backward walking exercise (BWE) has been shown to improve lower muscle strength and reduce knee adduction moment, making it a recommended intervention for knee OA rehabilitation. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of BWE combined with conventional rehabilitation programs on pain intensity and disability among individuals with knee OA. Material and methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, we systematically searched for studies from the inception to June 2025, prioritizing pain intensity as the primary outcome and disability as the secondary outcome, standardized by Hedges' g. A random-effects model was utilized for data pooling. Subgroup analyses focused on different walking speeds, surfaces, and control group characteristics. Results: Based on the final inclusion of 13 randomized controlled trials, combining BWE with conventional rehabilitation programs was found to significantly reduce pain intensity (Hedges' g = −0.997, 95% CI = −1.373 to −0.620) and improve disability (Hedges' g = −1.015, 95% CI = −1.326 to −0.703). Subgroup analyses revealed larger effect sizes for comfortable walking speed, and treadmill walking. Significant differences were observed across all control group comparisons (p <.05). Conclusion: BWE combined with rehabilitation showed moderate-to-large effect sizes in reducing pain and disability in knee OA. Future research should assess its standalone efficacy, long-term impact, and certainty of the evidence. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: meta analysis research systematic review tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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