Osteoarthritis of the knee: are some exercises better than others?

A new study concludes that aerobic activities, including cycling or swimming and other forms of exercise, are better for osteoarthritis-related pain.

- Osteoarthritis, a condition affecting the joints, is becoming more common.

- Although exercise is a useful lifestyle intervention for pain relief, experts are unsure about the best type of exercise to recommend.

- A recent analysis concludes that aerobic exercise is more beneficial for patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Although scientists have shown that exercise can reduce osteoarthritis pain, previous studies examining which types of exercise are most beneficial have been inconclusive.

A new systematic review and network meta-analysis brings together data from multiple studies to find a clearer answer.

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Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease. Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, which is caused by an autoimmune response, osteoarthritis is caused by "wear and tear."

In particular, the cartilage, which prevents the bones from moving together in the joints, slowly breaks down, causing pain and loss of function.Usually, osteoarthritis affects the knee joint.

Osteoarthritis has become more successful.There are many possible reasons for this increase, but two are important.First, it increases the line with increasing obesity, which puts more stress on the joints.Second, since osteoarthritis is primarily associated with aging, the increasing age of the population also plays a role.

According to the authors of the new analysis, about one in three people over the age of 45 already have signs of osteoarthritis.What's most worrying is that half of these people already have serious knee problems.

Although there are various treatments including medicine, exercise should be done

The author of the new book writes, "Many previous studies have failed in terms of exercise, avoidance of comparison and reduction of comparison and reduction of agreement and reduction of agreement."

In addition, because osteoarthritis is a long-term and progressive disease. They therefore feel that there is not enough research to evaluate it."Short, medium and long-term results"

Their new analysis helps clarify this important question.

As with any question that is difficult to answer, analyzing large amounts of qualitative data is a good way to develop a clear picture.

In this case, scientists combined data from 217 randomized controlled trials (RCTS) with a total of 15,684 participants.

All included studies focused only on osteoarthritis of the knee.In addition, they all compared a particular form of exercise to either a control condition or another form of exercise.The tests had to consider at least one of the following outcomes:

- quality of life

- How well they can walk

- a bad event

Importantly, the authors also assessed the quality of each trial, including risk of bias.Using this and other information, researchers were able to assess the reliability of the evidence.

After getting lots and lots of numbers, they concluded that aerobic exercise improved compared to control participants:

- Pain: Short-term and medium-term follow-up.

-Function: Short-term, medium-term and long-term monitoring.

- Walking performance (walking ability:) short and medium term monitoring.

- Quality of life: short and medium term monitoring.

However, you have the other pages of all the work.The mental-body training, add cognitive and practices of physical activity with physical activity.

Additionally, neuromotor exercises that address aspects of balance, coordination, walking, and agility have been shown to be beneficial for short-term performance.

Strength training and mixed exercises appeared to lead to significant increases in function at mid-term follow-up, and flexibility exercises were associated with significant long-term reductions in pain.

Importantly, both types of exercise produced no worse events than those in the control group.

This study has limitations.Interestingly, this only applied to people with knee osteoarthritis – studies of people with knee and hip osteoarthritis, for example, were excluded from the review.

They also explain that many of the studies on this topic are flawed and that larger, more comprehensive studies are needed.Importantly, only 5.5 percent of the studies looked for long-term outcomes, which is an important Opission when trying to understand the lifestyle of osteoarthritis.

Medical News Today contacted Dr.Matthew Bennett, an orthopedic surgeon and functional medicine specialist who was not involved in the study.

When we asked about the limitations, he said, "This was a well-designed and well-thought-out study. The researchers did an amazing job of gathering a lot of data and organizing it in a way that gives us a clearer picture than we ever had."

"However, no study is perfect," he added."One of the biggest challenges here is that it divides very different activities into broad categories. Walking, cycling and swimming are considered 'aerobic,' but anyone with knee arthritis knows they don't feel remotely the same."

"Swimming is much less impact. Cycling can be done when walking is not. So, while it can be beneficial in the general category, it does not mean that every activity is good for every person."

-Matiu Bennett, medico

Although aerobic activity is already recommended, it is given the same weight as other methods.

Medical News Today contacted Ashley Caravel, MD, a board-certified family medicine physician who was not involved in the study.We asked for his opinion on the study:

"I think this research is great news for anyone with knee arthritis. It shows that simple aerobic exercise really helps reduce pain and improve the way people move and feel."

“What surprised me most,” she continued, “was how much of a difference these activities made across so many people and types of exercise programs.”

According to their findings, the authors recommend "aerobic exercise as a first-line intervention in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis, especially when the goal is to improve functional capacity and reduce pain. While other exercises may offer additional benefits to patients, they should not replace aerobic exercise as the primary strategy."

Taken together, Caravelli told MNT the study suggests "regular movement is one of the most powerful tools we have."

The authors of the new study recommend participating in aerobic activities regularly, such as cycling, walking and swimming.However, they also explain that it is important to talk to your doctor before adopting new exercise practices.

"Many of us think that if we have arthritis, the best time is behind us, or we are changing and changing.