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 .
Effects of a cross-training exercise program in persons with osteoarthritis of the knee a randomized controlled trial.
This study was design ed to evaluate , by means of a r and omized controlled trial , the effects of a physical activity program incorporating aerobic , strength , and stretching exercises in individuals with osteoarthritis of the knee . We r and omly assigned 137 volunteers ages > /=50 to an experimental group or a control group . The experimental group participated in three 1-hour sessions of supervised exercises per week over a 3-month period . The control participants were instructed to continue their usual daily activities , and they attended 1-hour education sessions twice a month . The effectiveness of the program was evaluated using repeated measurements of parameters related to self-reported health status , physical capacity , and joint tenderness . After 3 months , significantly greater improvements were observed in the experimental group than the control group in terms of : arthritis pain ( p = 0.02 ) , ability to walk and bend ( p = 0.03 ) , aerobic capacity ( p < 0.0001 ) , hamstring and low back flexibility ( p = 0.003 ) , quadriceps and hamstring strength ( p < 0.01 ) , and the perception of changes relating to osteoarthritis of the knee and general condition ( p < 0.0001 ) . However , no significant differences were observed between the groups in isokinetic strength of the quadriceps ( all p 's > = = 0.05 ) , joint tenderness ( p = 0.18 ) , and health perception ( p = 0.7 ) . The overall results suggest that this program is effective for older persons with osteoarthritis of the knee and that it could contribute to maintaining their independence and improving their quality of life
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 .