Abstract

Objective: To conduct a secondary analysis to study the effects, those 4 months of aquatic resistance training have on self‐assessed symptoms and quality of life in post‐menopausal women with mild knee osteoarthritis (OA), after the intervention and after a 12‐month follow‐up period.

Methods: A total of 87 post‐menopausal volunteer women, aged 60‐68 years, with mild knee OA were recruited in a randomized, controlled, 4‐month aquatic training trial (RCT) and randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 43) and a control (n = 44) group. The intervention group participated in 48 supervised aquatic resistance training sessions over 4 months while the control group maintained their usual level of physical activity. Additionally, 77 participants completed the 12‐month post‐intervention follow‐up period. Self‐assessed symptoms were estimated using the OA‐specific Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and Health‐related Quality of life (HRQoL) using the generic Short‐form Health Survey (SF‐36).

Results: After 4 months of aquatic resistance training, there was a significant decrease in the stiffness dimension of WOMAC −8.5 mm (95% CI = −14.9 to −2.0, P = .006) in the training group compared to the controls. After the cessation of the training, this benefit was no longer observed during the 12‐month follow‐up. No between‐group differences were observed in any of the SF‐36 dimensions.

Conclusions: The results of this study show that participation in an intensive aquatic resistance training program did not have any short‐ or long‐term impact on pain and physical function or quality of life in women with mild knee OA. However, a small short‐term decrease in knee stiffness was observed.