No Meds Needed for Two Effective OA Regimens

More good from training.

Middle-aged patients with early knee osteoarthritis can benefit from either a self-managment program or strength training, but a combination of the two did not provide additional gains, a study found.

During a two-year trial, roughly two-thirds of participants randomized to one of three groups achieved clinically meaningful improvements in functioning, defined as a 26% change from baseline, according to a new report in the Jan. 15 Arthritis Care & Research.

Patients also achieved clinically meaningful improvements in pain -- defined as a 40% change from baseline -- regardless of treatment group, wrote Patrick E. McKnight, PhD, of George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and colleagues.

The functional improvements were 70% for patients in the strength training group, 64% for those in the self-management group, and a 66% improvement in the combined treatment group. For pain, the breakdown was as follows:

Strength training, 65%
Self-management, 56%
Combined treatment, 65%

McKnight and colleagues wrote that studies in older patients have reported positive changes for both strength training and self-management.

Learn how here.