Previous research(2) has not definitively identified the cause of knee OA. Therefore, the focus of treatment for knee OA is the management of its symptoms with emphasis on self-management therapies such as exercise( 9) and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies, such as massage(10). Evidence suggests, as noted above, that the quadriceps may play a role in the disease—hence, the emphasis on massage on that muscle in the present study. Following this further, the Perlman et al. 2006 research study(11) on massage for knee, OA suggested “massage therapy is efficacious in the treatment of OA of the knee, with beneficial effects persisting for weeks following treatment cessation.”
 
This research provided the first examination of the beneficial use of massage therapy as a single modality in the treatment of OA of the knee. Although the trial revealed significant results, the continued use of therapist-administered massage as a regular treatment is often cost-prohibitive in the long-term, nonpharmacological self-management of knee OA. Additionally, in a recent 2012 dose-finding study, Perlman et al.(12) established, as an optimal dose, a 60-minute weekly Swedish massage as a beneficial eight-week protocol for OA of the knee.