The Chronic Knee Pain Program: A self-management model.

BACKGROUND: It is vital that patients take an active role in self-management of their chronic knee pain condition. The Chronic Knee Pain Program was developed to assist patients in managing their chronic condition and to improve their overall well-being.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the feasibility of a six-week self-management program and to explore whether it may assist in decreasing body mass index (BMI) and depression symptom severity and increase physical activity levels in obese adults with chronic knee pain.

DESIGN: A one group, pre-test/post-test pilot study.

SETTING: A pain management clinic in the northeastern United States.

SAMPLE: Convenience sample of twelve adult patients with chronic knee pain and a BMI of 30 or greater were recruited, however, six participants completed the full program.

RESULTS: This type of intervention has potential value to improve the lifestyles of those individuals with chronic knee pain, including improvements in BMI, depression symptom severity and physical activity levels. In this study there was a decrease in mean BMI overtime; 41.2 (at week 1), 40.8 (at week 6), and 40.7 (at week 10).

CONCLUSIONS: The Chronic Knee Pain Program had a small sample size and high attrition rate, though yielded positive outcomes for some participants. Future research could focus on depression management, using conservative measures to help manage pain, and increasing pain coping skills. Implementing this program with a larger sample size is recommended to see if BMI, depression symptom severity and physical activity levels reach statistical significance.