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 spouse-assisted coping skills training and exercise training in patients with osteoarthritic knee pain: a randomized controlled study
& NA ; This study tested the separate and combined effects of spouse‐assisted pain coping skills training ( SA‐CST ) and exercise training ( ET ) in a sample of patients having persistent osteoarthritic knee pain . Seventy‐two married osteoarthritis ( OA ) patients with persistent knee pain and their spouses were r and omly assigned to : SA‐CST alone , SA‐CST plus ET , ET alone , or st and ard care ( SC ) . Patients in SA‐CST alone , together with their spouses , attended 12 weekly , 2‐h group sessions for training in pain coping and couples skills . Patients in SA‐CST+ET received spouse‐assisted coping skills training and attended 12‐weeks supervised ET . Patients in the ET alone condition received just an exercise program . Data analyses revealed : ( 1 ) physical fitness and strength :  the SA‐CST+ET and ET alone groups had significant improvements in physical fitness compared to SA‐CST alone and patients in SA‐CST+ET and ET alone had significant improvements in leg flexion and extension compared to SA‐CST alone and SC , ( 2 ) pain coping : patients in SA‐CST+ET and SA‐CST alone groups had significant improvements in coping attempts compared to ET alone or SC and spouses in SA‐CST+ET rated their partners as showing significant improvements in coping attempts compared to ET alone or SC , and ( 3 ) self‐efficacy : patients in SA‐CST+ET reported significant improvements in self‐efficacy and their spouses rated them as showing significant improvements in self‐efficacy compared to ET alone or SC . Patients receiving SA‐CST+ET who showed increased self‐efficacy were more likely to have improvements in psychological disability . An intervention that combines spouse‐assisted coping skills training and exercise training  can improve physical fitness , strength , pain coping , and self‐efficacy in patients suffering from pain due to osteoarthritis
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 .