With the development of the integration of sports and medicine, as well as the increasingly severe situation and harm caused by knee osteoarthritis (KOA), the sports intervention for KOA has received widespread attention. Community settings are considered the optimal location for KOA sports interventions, but existing community-based KOA interventions suffer from issues such as non-standard processes, unclear regulations, and incomplete content, highlighting the urgent need for standardized models.

To construct a community KOA intervention model based on the integration of sports and medicine, and to apply and evaluate this model.

Through literature review and on-site observation, a conceptual framework for community KOA intervention model based on the integration of sports and medicine was initially proposed. This framework underwent refinement via expert interviews to establish its constituent elements and application processes, resulting in the establishment of the final model. The model was then applied to 62 KOA patients treated at the Maigaoqiao and Xigang Community Health Service Centers in Nanjing from July to October 2022. Patients were randomly divided into a sports intervention group (n=21) and a health education group (n=41), both receiving an 8-week standardized treatment protocol. Outcome measures included the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index Questionaire (WOMAC), EuroQol Five Dimensions Questionaire (EQ-5D), 30-second chair stand test, and time up and go test (TUGT) .

The community KOA intervention model based on the integration of sports and medicine established an interactive relationship between "sports" and "medicine" in terms of departments, personnel, technical means, etc., including 5 primary elements and 24 secondary elements. Application of the model yielded the following outcomes: in the sports intervention group, post-treatment WOMAC total score and scores across all dimensions, VAS score, and TUGT time were significantly reduced compared to pre-treatment (P<0.05), while the EQ-5D health index and 30-second chair stand repetitions were significantly increased (P<0.05). In the health education group, post-treatment WOMAC total score and scores across all dimensions, as well as VAS score, were significantly lower than pre-treatment (P<0.05), with a higher EQ-5D health index (P<0.05). Comparison between groups post-treatment revealed that the sports intervention group had significantly lower WOMAC total score, WOMAC joint function score, and VAS score compared to the health education group (P<0.05) .

The community KOA intervention mode based on the integration of sports and medicine effectively alleviates, pain and joint stiffness symptoms, improves lower limb muscle strength and balance ability, improves joint function, and enhances quality of life for KOA patients.