Abstract

Introduction: For many people with knee osteoarthritis, alpine skiing is an important form of physical activity that improves their quality of life. However, pain and perceived instability can limit participation. While it is recognized that ski preparation affects performance, the impact of specific gliding surface preparation on pain and functional stability in patients with knee osteoarthritis has not yet been scientifically examined. This pilot study examined whether preparing the base of carving skis professionally could alleviate subjective symptoms and improve knee function while skiing. Methods: Six patients (n = 6) with clinically diagnosed gonarthrosis were included in the uncontrolled pilot study. Before and after the targeted ski preparation intervention, the participants completed standardized patient-reported outcome measures, using the International Knee Documentation Committee score. The intervention involved optimizing the preparation of the ski gliding surfaces and edges. Pre- and post-intervention scores were statistically compared to assess changes in pain, function, and perceived stability. Results: Targeted ski base preparation was associated with improved patient-reported pain and subjective stability while skiing. Functional outcome measures also improved after the intervention. The International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score increased from 58.54 ± 17.66% pre-intervention to 85.37 ± 14.95% post-intervention (p = 0.043). The estimated median paired difference was 31.7% (95% CI, 7.3% to 45.1%), indicating enhanced knee function after the intervention. This corresponded to a large effect size (rank-biserial r = 0.86) and exceeded the minimal clinically important difference for the IKDC, with five of six participants improving and none deteriorating. Conclusions: The professional and targeted preparation of carving ski gliding surfaces was associated with improvements in patient-reported pain and functional stability in this exploratory pilot study. Given the uncontrolled design and small sample, these observations should be regarded as hypothesis-generating and require confirmation in adequately powered, controlled trials. These findings highlight the potential value of sport-specific equipment adaptations as a complementary approach to conventional therapies. Further studies with larger sample sizes are required to confirm these results and evaluate the long-term effects.

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