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Weight Training for Knee May Slow OA

Posted on: Friday, 29 September 2006, 21:00 CDT

Weight training does not increase strength but may slow progression of osteoarthritis in patients, according to U.S. researchers.

Researchers at Indiana University and Purdue University conducted a study of 221 patients divided into four groups -- osteoarthritis/pain, osteoarthritis/no pain, no osteoarthritis/pain, no osteoarthritis/no pain -- that were then randomly assigned to either strength training (ST) or range-of-motion (ROM) for 30 months.

Patients initially trained at a fitness center twice a week and at home once a week; the sessions at the fitness center were gradually decreased until patients were doing all of the workouts at home after the first year. Of the 221 patients, 174 patients were evaluated at 30 months.

The results showed that patients in both groups lost lower-extremity strength over 30 months, but the rate of loss was slower with ST than with ROM.

In patients with osteoarthritis at the beginning of the study, the average loss of joint space width as seen on X-rays was 37 percent less in the ST group than in the ROM group, although this was not considered to be significant, according to the study published in October's Arthritis Care & Research.

Source: United Press International

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