Recent clinical commentary from JOSPT notes that physical activity is beneficial for patients with knee/hip osteoarthritis (OA). You may have heard the phrase “exercise is medicine.” This may seem like a paradox, but for people with hip and knee OA, many high-quality research studies show that exercise therapy is very helpful in decreasing pain and improving joint motion. Physical activity and exercise also help prevent cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and many other health conditions. Authors recommend 7 key exercise Therapy in aging population with hip or knee OA supervised by a physical therapist. Exercise Therapy is very safe and effective to improve healthy quality of life. Physical therapist providing exercise therapy is very well educated and has the highest qualification among medical professionals to promote health and fitness.
7 key recommendations include: (1) Exercise and physical activity should be tailored to your needs and preferences. (2) Consider water exercises if it is too painful to exercise on land. (3) Supervised exercise therapy over a 6-week period is often helpful to get you started. (4) Some people may need 12 weeks of supervised therapy to begin. (5) After you complete supervised therapy, you may need periodic “booster sessions” to help with long-term management of your OA pain and overall health. (6) Home exercises should be performed to optimize your outcomes. (7) You should be sure you understand how to manage flare-ups in pain and how to modify your exercises when pain increases.
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"Dr. Francis Jung is highly trained, insightful and operates at the maximum level of professionalism providing targeted and effective treatment. I've come to believe that P.T. is a form of "medicine" that with the right prescription and dosage, can alleviate and even reverse many chronic conditions. I've come to understand that pain and discomfort are just signals to what the body is experiencing but with the right treatment, one can move through this to the other where pain-free mobility and confidence wait. I would travel any distance in the region for the type of care that Dr. Jung provides and I appreciate this forum in which to share my experience."