Effects of progressive aquatic resistance training on symptoms and quality of life in women with knee osteoarthritis: A secondary analysis.

Abstract

To conduct a secondary analysis to study the effects, those 4months of aquatic resistance training have on self-assessed symptoms and quality of life in post-menopausal women with mild knee osteoarthritis (OA), after the intervention and after a 12-month follow-up period. A total of 87 post-menopausal volunteer women, aged 60-68years, with mild knee OA were recruited in a randomized, controlled, 4-month aquatic training trial (RCT) and randomly assigned to an intervention (n=43) and a control (n=44) group. The intervention group participated in 48 supervised aquatic resistance training sessions over 4months while the control group maintained their usual level of physical activity. Additionally, 77 participants completed the 12-month post-intervention follow-up period. Self-assessed symptoms were estimated using the OA-specific Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and Health-related Quality of life (HRQoL) using the generic Short-form Health Survey (SF-36). After 4months of aquatic resistance training, there was a significant decrease in the stiffness dimension of WOMAC -8.5mm (95% CI=-14.9 to -2.0, P=.006) in the training group compared to the controls. After the cessation of the training, this benefit was no longer observed during the 12-month follow-up. No between-group differences were observed in any of the SF-36 dimensions. The results of this study show that participation in an intensive aquatic resistance training program did not have any short- or long-term impact on pain and physical function or quality of life in women with mild knee OA. However, a small short-term decrease in knee stiffness was observed.