Exercise plus sleep therapy for knee osteoarthritis pain in older adults
Official title: Move and Snooze: Adding insomnia treatment to an exercise program to improve pain outcomes in older adults with knee osteoarthritis
Funded at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor · NIH-11127715 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project adds a digital insomnia program to a personalized exercise plan to help older adults with knee osteoarthritis have less pain and better sleep.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Michigan at Ann Arbor NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Ann Arbor, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $727,607 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG081299-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11127715 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Older adults (typically 65+) with diagnosed knee osteoarthritis who report insomnia or other sleep problems and who can safely take part in an exercise program and use digital tools are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without sleep disturbances, those unable to safely exercise because of other medical conditions, or those who cannot use or access the digital CBT-I program are less likely to benefit from this intervention.
What this research studies
If you have knee osteoarthritis and trouble sleeping, researchers will combine a personalized exercise program with an automated, digitally delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) called Move and Snooze. The team will use activity trackers and regular follow-ups to monitor movement, sleep, and knee pain and compare outcomes to exercise alone. The program was developed with input from people with OA and sleep problems and was tested in a small feasibility trial before this larger effort. The aim is to find out whether improving sleep helps exercise reduce knee pain more effectively.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could increase the pain-relief benefits of exercise, improve sleep, and boost function and quality of life for older adults with knee OA.
How similar studies have gone: CBT-I reliably improves sleep and exercise has modest pain benefits for knee OA, and initial feasibility work combining these approaches was promising, but large-scale trials of the combined intervention are limited.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Whibley, Daniel — University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
- Study coordinator: Whibley, Daniel
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Move and Snooze: add sleep help to an exercise plan to ease knee pain in older adults
A program combines a personalized exercise plan with a digital sleep-improvement course to reduce knee pain for adults aged 65 and up who have osteoarthritis.
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Improving pain management in older adults with knee osteoarthritis through exercise and insomnia treatment.
This study is looking at whether a mix of exercise and a special sleep program can help older adults with knee osteoarthritis feel less pain and sleep better.
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Understanding how knee pain and knee obesity and muscle loss affect knee osteoarthritis
This project looks at how knee swelling, excess knee fat, and muscle loss relate to pain and structural changes in knee osteoarthritis in adults.
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Nanoparticles delivering an sPLA2 blocker for knee osteoarthritis
This project uses tiny, drug-filled nanoparticles to deliver an sPLA2-blocking medicine into the knee to reduce inflammation and slow knee osteoarthritis in people with painful knee OA.
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Remote tai chi for knee OA in everyday care
A nationwide study will test remotely delivered tai chi for people with knee osteoarthritis to see if it helps pain and function when added to usual care.
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Sensory nerves and joint cells talk to each other in knee arthritis
This grant tests how nerve signals and joint cells interact in knee osteoarthritis, with a focus on CGRP pathways and how they affect pain and joint damage.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.