Alessio Bricca

Impact of exercise on articular cartilage in people at risk of, or with established, knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials

Objective To investigate the impact of knee joint loading exercise on articular cartilage in people at risk of, or with established, knee osteoarthritis (OA) by conducting a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Design We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. Data sources We performed a literature search with no restriction on publication year or language in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Web of Science up to September 2017. Eligibility criteria RCTs investigating the impact of exercise on MRI-assessed articular cartilage in people over 18 years of age. Results We included nine trials, including a total of 14 comparisons of cartilage morphometry, morphology and composition outcomes, of which two included participants at increased risk of knee OA and 12 included participants with knee OA. In participants at increased risk, one study comparison reported no effect on cartilage defects and one had positive effects on glycosaminoglycans (GAG). In participants with OA, six study comparisons reported no effect on cartilage thickness, volume or defects; one reported a negative effect and one no effect on GAG; two reported a positive effect and two no effect on collagen. Conclusions Knee joint loading exercise seems to not be harmful for articular cartilage in people at increased risk of, or with, knee OA. However, the quality of evidence was low, including some interventions studying activities considered outside the therapeutic loading spectrum to promote cartilage health.

Exercise does not 'wear down my knee': Systematic reviews and meta-analyses

I investigated the impact of exercise on knee joint articular cartilage. This aim was investigated in three different systematic reviews (SRs) of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in healthy animals and in humans at risk of or with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Exercise is the first-line treatment for knee OA.1 Yet, many people still believe that exercise may ‘ wear down my knee ’ creating a barrier to exercise. Articular cartilage is the hallmark of OA and the structure I studied in my PhD. It is a connective tissue that covers bone ends in the joints and provides lubrication of the meeting surfaces, allowing the transmission of loads with a low frictional coefficient. Aggrecan, collagen and molecular biomarkers are the molecules responsible for maintaining cartilage integrity, function and metabolism, and …

There are more football injury prevention reviews than randomised controlled trials. Time for more RCT action

Football is the most popular sport worldwide, and participation in football at any level is associated with numerous health benefits.1 However, participation in football at any level incurs a risk of sustaining musculoskeletal injuries.2 3 Effective injury prevention strategies are needed. The first formal injury prevention randomised controlled trial (RCT) in football was published in 1983.4 We performed a scoping systematic review to provide an overview of the published articles on injury prevention in football. A study protocol is available online at http://findresearcher.sdu.dk/portal/files/134191319/Protocol\_scoping\_revire_PURE.pdf. Although we primarily focused on RCTs, we also included systematic reviews and other studies investigating injury prevention strategies/interventions in football regardless of participant age, sex and level of participation. Our literature search identified 3131 studies, with 98 studies being …

Impact of exercise therapy on molecular biomarkers related to cartilage and inflammation in people at risk of, or with established, knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

To investigate the impact of exercise therapy on molecular biomarkers related to cartilage and inflammation in individuals at risk of, or with established, knee osteoarthritis by conducting a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).