Effect of physiotherapy on pain and physical function in people with arthritis affecting their kneecap

Each participant will be treated by an experienced physiotherapist, trained and proficient in the interventions. The treatment will be delivered in 8 sessions (30-60 minutes duration) over 12 weeks (1/week for 4 weeks, 1/fortnight for 8 weeks). The physiotherapy treatment will consist of quadriceps muscle retraining, quadriceps and hip muscle strengthening, patellar taping, manual patellofemoral and soft tissue mobilization, hip muscle retraining and OA education. The treatment will be tailored according to each patient’s clinical presentation (eg strength, pain severity, swelling), presence of comorbidities (eg back and hip pain or pathology) and progressed based on individual response to exercise load, thus maximising the training effects. Exercises will be supervised by the physiotherapist during each visit. A home exercise program will be prescribed, to be performed independently at home 4 times per week. An exercise manual will be produced, with clear instructions and diagrams. Specific aspects of the treatment include: For the remaining 6 months of the trial, participants will be required to continue with a home maintenance program. Compliance with the program will be monitored from the diary recordings of exercise completions, usual pain and medication use.