Mobile App Based Feedback for Those with Hip or Knee Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis impacts millions of employees, and assessment, treatment and prevention options are of great importance in workplace health programming. The disease that impacts the protective cartilage of bones and joints can be linked to how people work, and being active and maintaining a healthy weight is quite important for prevention purposes as part of a wellbeing strategy. This study looked at a mobile app-based treatment approach. Twenty-four people were enrolled and evaluated. There were no significant differences between interrater agreements (Motion Coach app vs physiotherapists: percent agreement 0.828; physiotherapist 1 vs physiotherapist 2: percent agreement 0.833; P<.001). Age (70 years or under, older than 70 years), gender (male, female), or BMI (30 kg/m2 or under, greater than 30 kg/m2) subgroup analysis revealed no detectable difference in interrater agreement. There was no detectable difference in levels of interrater agreement between Motion Coach vs physiotherapists and between physiotherapists in any of the 6 exercises. The researchers concluded that the Motion Coach is noninferior to physiotherapist evaluations. This finding was valid for all investigated exercises and subgroups. These results confirm the ability of Motion Coach to detect user form during exercise and provide valid feedback to users with musculoskeletal disorders.