A pilot randomized controlled trial evaluating outdoor community walking for knee osteoarthritis: walk.

"Declarations Ethics approvalThis study was approved by the Tasmanian Health and Medical Human Research Ethics Committee (H0017108). Consent to participateAll participants provided written informed consent. Conflict of interestThe authors do not have any conflicts of interest relevant to this study. Disclosure The lead authors affirm that this manuscript is an honest, accurate, and transparent account of the study being reported; that no important aspects of the study have been omitted; and that any discrepancies from the study as planned (and, if relevant, registered) have been explained. Conflict of interest The authors do not have any conflicts of interest relevant to this study. Disclosure The lead authors affirm that this manuscript is an honest, accurate, and transparent account of the study being reported; that no important aspects of the study have been omitted; and that any discrepancies from the study as planned (and, if relevant, registered) have been explained."

"Funding Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and its Member Institutions. This trial is funded by Arthritis Australia, Arthritis and Osteoporosis Tasmania, and the University of Tasmania Better Health Theme research grant. Dr. Callisaya, Antony, Jones, Hinman, and Bennell are recipients of National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) fellowship funding to support their salaries. Dr. Aitken is the recipient of a NHMRC/Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) fellowship to support her salary. Role of the funding sourceArthritis Australia, Arthritis and Osteoporosis Tasmania, and the University of Tasmania Better Health Theme had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication."

"Trial registration number 12618001097235. Key Points• This pilot study is the first to investigate the effects of an outdoor walking program on knee osteoarthritis clinical outcomes and MRI joint structure, and it indicates that a full-scale RCT is feasible.• The outdoor walking program (plus usual care) resulted in large improvements in self-reported knee osteoarthritis symptoms compared to usual care alone.• The study identified recruitment challenges, and the manuscript explores these in more details and provides recommendations for future studies."