Tel: 01 283 4303It may sound counter-intuitive when first telling someone suffering with arthritis of the knee that they should exercise to help relieve the pain. But, research suggests that some forms of aerobic, aquatic and strength training will ease pain and improve function.
But not every study is created equally and sometimes certain published claims don't stack up with what our daily hands-on experience is telling us. Some examples...
From a review of 193 studies that were published between 1970 and 2012, a senior university research associate, Dr. Tatyana Shamliyan, and her colleagues claim to have found little evidence to support the effectiveness of various treatments for pain relief such as; manual therapy, massage or electrical stimulation.
This conclusion needs to be treated with caution given that many of the studies reviewed were very old and not necessarily using the most advanced manual therapy techniques, for example.
We find we achieve very beneficial effects by using the latest in manual therapy techniques which have been proven to be effective in more up to date studies, as well as is the case for the effectiveness of medical acupuncture for this condition.
They did however conclude that it was beneficial and important for sufferers of knee pain from osteoarthritis to get a prescriptive exercise program from a Physiotherapist.
It was highlighted that low impact and moderate intensity exercise was recommended - ditch the running for something like Pilates. Weight loss for certain individuals would also help reduce pressure on the knee assisting with pain relief.
Read the full article here - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_131050.html
by Simon Coghlan
