Though you might not feel like it when your joints are aching, Arthritis UK said that for those with arthritis, “staying as active as possible can reduce your pain and the symptoms of your condition”.
It can help to reduce stiffness, boost your mood, and even make you feel less tired.
But a recent systematic review and meta-analysis published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) recently sought to answer the question: which type of exercise is best for those with the condition?
Specifically, they looked at studies about how different exercise types affected those with knee osteoarthritis (the most common type of arthritis).
Which exercises did they study?
The study authors looked at more than 200 randomised controlled trials conducted between 1990 and 2024. They wanted to see how:
- aerobic (e.g. walking, cycling, and swimming),
- flexibility (e.g. stretches),
- strengthening (e.g. working out with weights),
- mind-body (e.g. tai chi and yoga),
- neuromotor (e.g. dual-task activities, like walking and nodding your head), and
- mixed exercises (a combination of some of the above),
affected participants in this research, which included over 15,000 people with knee osteoarthritis.
They noted how doing these exercise types changed their function, gait performance, and quality of life.
They tracked the outcomes of the different training types at four-week, 12-week, and 24-week intervals.
Aerobic exercise won out
“In patients with knee osteoarthritis, aerobic exercise is likely the most beneficial exercise modality for improving pain, function, gait performance, and quality of life, with moderate certainty,” the study authors concluded.
It’s likely the best pick “as a first line intervention for knee osteoarthritis management, particularly when the aim is to improve functional capacity and reduce pain”, they added.
Almost 30% of over-45s have some form of osteoarthritis, the study authors noted, and about half of those experience the issue in their knees.
What are some aerobic exercises?
These include:
- Cycling,
- Jogging,
- Swimming,
- Dancing,
- Brisk walking,
- Rowing,
- Skipping,
- Using the elliptical.
Basically, if it gets your breathing and heart rate up, it probably counts.
Many non-aerobic exercises still had benefits, though
That’s not to say the other, non-aerobic exercise types were useless. Mind-body exercises, for instance, seemed to improve function in the short term, while neuromotor exercises appeared to make people’s gait better.
None of the exercises seemed to harm participants in this review, with the researchers noting: “Exercise treatment offers obvious benefits for individuals with knee osteoarthritis”.
If a person with knee arthritis can’t engage in aerobic activity for whatever reason, “alternative forms of structured physical activity may still be beneficial”.
