Kinetotherapy in knee osteoarthritis in times of pandemic in republic of Moldova

ABSTRACT

Objective: Kinet o therapy is proposed as a method of nonpharmacological treatment of knee osteoarthritis (OA) by the EULAR and OARSI recommendations. Since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared by the WHO in March 2020, there have been different restrictions for outpatient rehabilitation clinics in the Republic of Moldova, from banning clinic visits, limited access, or the need for additional precautions for both patient safety and health professionals. This study aimed to assess the restrictions of the kinetotherapy rehabilitation program in patients with osteoarthritis during the pandemic Methods: We performed a qualitative study of patient attitude and the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on their rehabilitation program. The sample (n=28) consisted of patients with osteoarthritis that were admitted to outpatient rehabilitation facilities associated with University Rehabilitation Center. All patients underwent a standard kinetotherapy 10 D program between September 2020-March 2021. The patient's opinions were assessed in semi-structed interview by phone calls, after completing the kinetotherapy program. The qualitative findings of the impact of pandemic restrictions on patients with OA Results: In the study were included 28 patients (9 men and 19 women) The analysis revealed 9 areas concerning challenging reasons in patients with knee OA during the rehabilitation program certain restrictions across the country determined by infection rate, fear for traveling in public transport or becoming infected during exercise program because they cannot keep a safe distance, high rate of abandon or poor adherence to kinetotherapeutic program due to patient infection or need to respect the self-isolation, preference of individual sessions rather than group sessions increased rate of telerehabilitation, challenges in elderly to use gadgets, post-COVID symptoms caused some limitation for the intensity of the program, increased communication needs of patients Conclusion: Kinetotherapy rehabilitation is an important part of the management of knee osteoarthritis, its realization in pandemic conditions determined several challenges, as brought challenges but also opportunities.