Exercise may improve quality of life in knee arthritis

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   The review included 23 trials with 3,668 people who had knee arthritis. Most were women, and their average ages were about 57 to 67.

2. 02

   What they did

   The trials tested exercise and self-management meetings. The other groups had no treatment, a booklet or drugs.

3. 03

   What happened

   Exercise therapy improved quality of life in general and for the knee. Adding physical activity to a booklet made no clear difference. Meetings for self-management made no clear difference either. Psychological outcomes came from one or two trials each, so they were not pooled.

What the review found

1. Helped

   Exercise therapy improved quality of life more than the other groups did.

   Pooled analysis of 4 studies with 532 people · vs no treatment, a booklet or anti-inflammatory drugs · they rated themselves · ⚠ the studies disagreed a lot; whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

2. Helped

   Exercise therapy improved quality of life for the knee more than the other group did.

   Pooled analysis of 2 studies with 149 people · vs no treatment or a self-management booklet · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

3. No difference

   Adding exercise to a booklet made no clear difference to quality of life.

   Pooled analysis of 2 studies with 395 people · vs the booklet alone · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

4. No difference

   Self-management meetings made no clear change to quality of life.

   Pooled analysis of 4 studies with 1,279 people · vs a self-management booklet or no treatment · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

Source