OA Patients: Reduce Pain, Increase Function With Resistance Training

Researchers from Brazil have found evidence that resistance strength training reduces pain and increases function and treatment satisfaction in people with hand osteoarthritis (OA), according to new research findings presented in November at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

“There is a scarce literature regarding strength exercise in hand OA, and there is no consensus about it. So, we decided to do this study to evaluate the effectiveness of progressive strength exercise for these patients, ” explains lead investigator, Michele Nery PT, Ms.C. from the Universidade Federal de São Paulo-Brazil, in the November 9, 2015 news release.

A total of 60 participants were followed for 12 weeks. At the beginning of the study, all participants received instruction on joint protection and energy conservation. Participants were randomized to two groups: one that followed a progressive resistance exercise program for the small muscles in the hand and fingers, and one group did not.

As indicated in the news release, a blinded evaluator “performed evaluations at the beginning of the study and again at six and 12 weeks…At the end of the study, the evaluator noted that patients in the exercise group show better function, reduced hand pain, and more satisfaction with their treatment when compared to group that did not follow the resistance exercise program.”

“This study shows that progressive strength exercise can improve some aspects of hand OA, such as pain and function, ” explains Nery. “We believe this can be an option for the treatment of hand OA patients, and they should talk to their physicians about it.”

Dr. Neri commented to OTW, “Although systematic reviews sometimes show positive evidence about the use of exercises in the treatment of patients with hand osteoarthritis (OA), the poor quality of the studies doesn’t allow us to draw convincing conclusions. Since we use it systematically with our patients with hand OA, we decided to do this study to evaluate the effectiveness of this exercises.”

“Our results suggest that hand exercises for hand OA are important to improve function and reduce pain, so it’s another kind of conservative treatment that could be used prior to surgery. More studies on these subjects should be done.”