OBJECTIVES
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients often struggle to engage in physical activities in their daily lives due to pain and functional limitations. This leads to increased sedentary behavior, which not only hinders physical function but also heightens the risk of chronic diseases. Interventions aimed at enhancing physical activity are imperative for patients with knee OA, but implementing these interventions can be challenging due to the potential risk of pain and injury. Aquatic exercise is a potential intervention option that may be beneficial for patients with knee OA, as it offers a low-impact environment that may reduce the risk of pain and injury. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate changes in pain an 8-week aquatic exercise program among older female with knee OA. We also assessed whether this improvement contributed to an increase in daily physical activity.
METHODS
Thirty older females with knee OA, aged 60-75 years, were randomly allocated to either the non-exercising control group (CON=15) or the aquatic exercise group (AE=15) groups. Aquatic exercise program was performed three times per week for eight weeks in a pool. Intensity-specific physical activities (vigorous [VPA], moderate [MPA], light [LPA] intensity activities and sedentary time [ST]) were measured using a wearable device. We also evaluated the pain, stiffness, and physical function using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) before and after intervention.
RESULTS
The score of pain, stiffness, and physical function were significantly changed after aquatic exercise program in both the experimental and control groups (p<0.05). AE group showed an increase in LPA and MVPA (p<0.05), along with a decrease in ST. However, time spent in LPA and MVPA was decreased, and ST was significantly increased in control group (p<0.05). MVPA was negatively correlated with change in pain (r=-0.645, P=0.009), but ST was correlated positively with pain (r=0.366, P=0.040) in AE group.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings provide evidence that aquatic exercise reduces knee pain in older female with osteoarthritis. Such a reduction in knee OA pain was associated with an increase in MVPA and decrease in ST.