Randomized controlled trial of aquatic exercise for treatment of knee osteoarthritis in elderly people

AIM: The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of aquatic exercise on pain, gait, and balance among elderly patients with knee osteoarthritis. METHODS: We performed a randomized controlled trial at a university hospital. Overall, 32 men with knee osteoarthritis, aged ≥ 60 years, were included. Pain, balance, and gait were evaluated before and 2 months after interventions. The group control used acetaminophen and followed lifestyle recommendations. The intervention group performed the aquatic exercise three sessions per week for 8 weeks. RESULTS: At the end of the study, mean pain scores were significantly different between the groups (p = 0.010). Within-group analyses showed that group intervention experienced significant pain relief (p = 0.019), whereas group control did not show the significant change (p = 0.493). There was significant improvement in favor of aquatic exercise with regard to static (p = 0.001) and dynamic (p = 0.001) balance, step length (p = 0.038), stride length (p < 0.001), and cadence (p < 0.001). However, we did not find a significant difference in step time and width between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Aquatic exercise would be beneficial in decreasing subjective pain of osteoarthritis. There are some recognizable improvements in patients’ gait and balance as well.