Are the Effects of Resistance Exercise on Pain and Function in Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis Dependent on Exercise Volume, Duration and Adherence?

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine dose parameters for resistance exercise associated with improvements in pain and physical function in knee and hip osteoarthritis (OA); and whether these improvements were related to adherence.

METHODS: We searched 6 databases, from inception to January 28 2023, for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing land-based, resistance exercise-only interventions with no intervention or any other intervention. There were four subgroups of intervention duration: 0 to <3 months, 3-6 months, >6 to <12 months, ≥12 months. The between-group effect was calculated for immediate post-intervention pain and physical function (activities of daily living (ADL) and sports/recreation (SPORT)).

RESULTS: For both knee and hip, data from 280 studies showed moderate benefit for pain, physical function ADL and physical function SPORT in favour of interventions 3-6 months. For the knee, there was also a moderate benefit for physical function ADL in favour of interventions >6 to <12 months. From 151 knee and hip studies that provided total exercise volume data (frequency, time, duration), there was no association between volume with the effect size for pain and physical function. 74 studies (69 knee, 5 hip) reported usable adherence data. There was no association between adherence with the effect size for pain and physical function.

CONCLUSION: In knee and hip OA, resistance exercise interventions 3 to 6 months (and for the knee >6 to <12 months) duration improve pain and physical function. Improvements do not depend on exercise volume or adherence, suggesting exercise does not require rigid adherence to a specific dose.