Effects of hydrotherapy and land-based exercise on mobility and quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized control trial.
Santhanee Khruakhorn, Sanon Chiwarakranon
PMID 33935364WHAT IT FOUND
Hydrotherapy and land-based exercise produced similar mobility and quality-of-life outcomes.
Both groups improved pain, function, and sit-to-stand time after six weeks. Hydrotherapy also improved walking and stair climbing at six weeks, and some quality-of-life domains at six months.
Key findings
01Between-group comparisons showed no significant difference in all outcomes at six weeks and six months after training.
02After six weeks, WOMAC total scores decreased significantly within both groups on a 220-point scale.
03At six weeks, among functional tests, hydrotherapy showed significant within-group decreases in time-up and go, five times sit-to-stand, and stair climbing times, while land-based exercise showed a significant within-group decrease only in five times sit-to-stand time.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study included 34 participants, 17 in each group, which may not reliably detect a true difference between treatments. The trial found no significant between-group differences, so within-group improvements cannot show one protocol is better. The protocols combined stretching, strengthening with elastic bands or flotation noodles, cycling on land or in water, and tiptoeing or jogging, so the effect of any single component cannot be separated. The study did not assess individual muscle strength, osteoarthritis duration, pain during the exercise period, or knee alignment. Some participants had prior knee injections or used walking aids, which may have affected outcomes. At six months, several hydrotherapy participants continued hydrotherapy after the experiment, so follow-up results were not controlled. Participants were not blinded to treatment assignment; they were blinded only to the study objective. The sample was mostly female (91.18%) and both groups had mean BMI in the overweight range.
Declared interests
None declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude hydrotherapy is better than land-based exercise. The trial found no significant between-group differences in mobility or quality of life at six weeks or six months. The protocols also combined stretching, strengthening with elastic bands or flotation noodles, cycling, and tiptoeing or jogging, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated.