Internal Med Medical News about osteoarthritis of the hip joint;exercise therapy

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Exercise therapy for the management of osteoarthritis of the hip joint: A systematic review
Arthritis Research & Therapy, 06/29/09

McNair PJ et al. – Review concludes that there was only limited information available upon which decisions regarding the efficacy of exercise could be clearly based. No studies met the level of exercise recommended for individuals with osteoarthritis.

Methods

Main objectives of this systematic review based on literature were to:
- Evaluate the exercise programs utilised in intervention studies focused solely upon hip joint OA
- Decide whether their exercise regimes met the new guidelines; and
- Determine the level of support for exercise therapy interventions in the management of hip joint OA
Literature search of 14 electronic databases to identify interventions that employed exercise therapy
Quality of each article was critically appraised and graded according to standardised methodological approaches
A 'pattern of evidence' approach was used to determine the overall level of evidence in support of exercise therapy interventions

Results

More than 4000 articles were identified of which 338 were considered suitable
Of these, only 6 intervention studies met the inclusion criteria
There were few well-designed studies that specifically investigated the use of exercise therapy management
Insufficient evidence was found to suggest that exercise therapy can be an effective short-term management approach for reducing pain levels, improving joint function and quality of life