Hip Exercises May Improve Walking, Pain with Knee Arthritis

An article published by Carolyn Crist of Reuter’s Health on March 11, 2019 summarizes a research review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine analyzing the effects of the addition of hip exercises on walking, and pain for people with knee arthritis. The researchers used a collection of data from eight clinical trials involving a total of 340 patients which showed that patients with knee arthritis can also benefit from the addition of hip strengthening exercises that involve the use of elastic bands or weights to “improve the ability to walk and maybe reduce pain”.

Andrew Hislop, the lead author stated “despite knowing that exercise is beneficial, what type of exercise should be included in a thorough exercise program remains largely unknown”. Hislop informed Reuter’s health there would be an increase demand in health care to manage knee osteoarthritis with an increasing population.

When analyzing the gathered data, researchers focused on investigating how the addition of “resistance weight-lifting, functional neuromuscular exercises such as single leg squats or stepping, and so-called multimodal exercise that combined these two” to a current regimen impacted aspects of knee and walking form, pain, and quality of life.

The researchers concluded the addition of hip strengthening exercises alone “significantly improved walking function”, however, it “did not have a statistically meaningful effect on pain, stair function, or the ability to stand from a sitting position”. Although, when the exercises were evaluated individually, it was found that resistance exercises were more effective than functional neuromuscular exercises in improving knee pain and functioning.

Read the full article here.