Grant: Project Grant - Priority Announcement: Female Athlete Health

By 2040, 25% of Canadians will have osteoarthritis (OA), a disabling joint condition. Most people think OA only affects older adults, but 50% of the 700,000 Canadian youth who hurt their knee playing sports annually will develop OA by 40 years of age. These young people with old knees face knee pain and disability for much of their adult lives, interfering with parenting, work, and recreation. Yet, most do not know about OA or how to reduce their risk. With a team of patients and healthcare providers, we designed and showed the acceptability of a new program that targets young people at risk of old knees. Stop OsteoARthritis (SOAR) is a virtual, education, and exercise-based program that aims to alter the downward spiral in knee health seen after injury by improving pain, function, and confidence to manage one's own knee health. This 6-month program involves a 1) 2-hour knee camp where people learn about their knee health and set goals to manage it, 2) personalized home exercise and physical activity program, 3) wrist-worn activity tracker, and 4) weekly check-ins with a physiotherapist to discuss progress, obstacles, and tailor exercises. In this study, people who have torn the Anterior Cruciate ligament in their knee and had reconstruction surgery 9-36 months previously will be randomized to receive either the SOAR program or not. Researchers will test if those who received the SOAR program have larger gains in knee health, including pain, symptoms, function, and quality of life at 6, 12, and 24 months. Researchers will also use MRIs to assess how SOAR influences knee cartilage degeneration. Our team involves patients as research partners and is the first research group to use a patient-focused approach to improve knee health in knee injury survivors. By testing this innovative new program in an often-overlooked group, we hope to improve their health and ultimately decrease the number of Canadians suffering from the devastating effects of OA.