Several individual RCTs demonstrated clinical ly important improvements in pain and disability with aerobic exercise .
Other PT interventions demonstrated no sustained benefit .
Individual RCTs showed similar benefits with aerobic , aquatic , and strengthening exercise .
Adverse events were uncommon and did not deter participants from continuing treatment .
Low-strength evidence suggested that only a few PT interventions were effective .
BACKGROUND Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability .
Nonsurgical treatment is a key first step .
PURPOSE Systematic literature review of physical therapy ( PT ) interventions for community-dwelling adults with knee osteoarthritis .
Physical exercise and comorbidity. Results from the Fitness and Arthritis in Seniors Trial (FAST)
Background and aims : Physical exercise is associated with a lower risk of disability . The impact of comorbidity on the benefits from physical exercise has not been clearly investigated . Elders with comorbidity may benefit from physical exercise to preserve physical function . Methods : Data are from 435 participants with knee osteoarthritis aged ≥60 years enrolled in the Fitness and Arthritis in Seniors Trial ( FAST ) , who were r and omly assigned to 18-month health educational ( HE ) , weight training ( WT ) , or aerobic exercise ( AE ) interventions .  Comorbidity was defined as the presence of osteoarthritis and ≥2 clinical conditions . Percent changes in the 6-minute walk test , self-reported disability and knee pain from baseline to 3- , 9- , and 18-month follow-up visits were analyzed according to comorbidity , using analysis of variance . Significance s were adjusted using the Bonferroni method . Results : Mean age of the sample was 68.7 years . In participants with comorbidity ( n=197 ) , those in the AE intervention showed significant improvement in walking speed , compared to WT and HE groups , since the beginning of follow-up . Subjects with comorbidity in AE and WT groups showed improvement of the disability score at the 3-month follow-up visit compared to those in the HE group . This improvement was maintained at the end of the follow-up by the only AE group compared to the HE one ( p=0.06 ) . In participants with comorbidity  , the pain score was improved by the AE intervention . Conclusions : AE and WT interventions improve physical function in individuals with comorbidity . AE improves physical function and knee pain independently of the presence of comorbidity
Several individual RCTs demonstrated clinical ly important improvements in pain and disability with aerobic exercise .
Other PT interventions demonstrated no sustained benefit .
Individual RCTs showed similar benefits with aerobic , aquatic , and strengthening exercise .
Adverse events were uncommon and did not deter participants from continuing treatment .
Low-strength evidence suggested that only a few PT interventions were effective .
BACKGROUND Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability .
Nonsurgical treatment is a key first step .
PURPOSE Systematic literature review of physical therapy ( PT ) interventions for community-dwelling adults with knee osteoarthritis .