Seniors with Osteoarthritis Increase Physical
Activity More with Activity Strategy Training
Occupational therapy, exercise helps senior citizens
with hip and knee OA
Sept.
29, 2008 – A program conducted in a senior center and senior housing
units has found that osteoarthritis patients who engaged in “activity
strategy training” along with regular exercise increased their physical
activity, more so than those patients who only took part in exercise and
health education sessions.
Physical activity is the cornerstone of any healthy
lifestyle – and especially for people with osteoarthritis as exercise
helps maintain good joint health, manage their symptoms, and prevent
functional decline.
Osteoarthritis, however, often makes physical activity, such as
exercise, and even performing daily activities, a challenge.
But an occupational therapist-led approach – called
“activity strategy training” – could provide patients with knee and hip
osteoarthritis the opportunity to lead more active lives and even
improve their overall health, according to a new study led by
researchers at the
University of Michigan Health System.
“Most people with osteoarthritis want to be active,
but often find that there are personal or physical barriers in the way.
For instance, people with osteoarthritis often deal with pain and
fatigue, which makes engaging in regular physical activity more
difficult. In addition, there are often barriers in people’s homes and
communities that make physical activity difficult,” she continues.
For that reason, Murphy says the pilot study used
activity strategy training in groups and in places – such as senior
housing facilities – where barriers could be addressed and potential
solutions discovered.
A
new study has determined that almost half of all U.S. adults
will develop painful osteoarthritis of the knee by age 85, but
this problem mushrooms to almost two-thirds of older people who
are obese.
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Taught by occupational therapists, this structured
rehabilitation program is designed to educate patients about joint
protection, proper body mechanics, activity pacing, and environmental
barriers. For example, patients with joint pain caused by osteoarthritis
learn techniques for walking around the house or outdoors, or even
getting in and out of a car.
For the pilot study, the activity strategy training
included education, group discussion, a home visit, and demonstration
and practice of techniques to facilitate activity.
Activity strategy training, however, is not
commonly prescribed to patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis, a
degenerative disease that causes the breakdown of the cartilage in
joints. Most physical activity programs for these patients only offer
structured exercise, which has been shown to have short-term positive
effects on arthritis pain and physical disability. But these effects
usually fade soon after participation in the program ends.
In this study, both groups participated in the same
structured exercise program. However, only participants who received the
activity strategy training were found to have increased the intensity of
their physical activity at the end of the study compared to those who
received health education.
While the results are promising, Murphy says more
research needs to be conducted to replicate with larger groups and to
examine long-term effects before this technique can be applied to
patient care.
Regardless, Murphy encourages patients with hip or
knee osteoarthritis to seek out opportunities now to enhance and expand
their daily physical activity, and improve overall health behaviors.
About the Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program
The Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program, formerly
known as People with Arthritis Can Exercise (PACE), is a program
developed by the Arthritis Foundation in 1987 to promote self-management
of arthritis through exercise.
The program is offered at basic and advanced
levels, and is available throughout the country in many convenient
community-based settings. A detailed listing of classes in local areas
can be found on the Arthritis Foundation's Web site at
www.arthritis.org.
“People with osteoarthritis tend to know more about
surgical options, and less about how they can take an active role in
promoting their own health and well-being,” Murphy explains.
“People with osteoarthritis need to be their own
agents of change. They can do so much to manage symptoms and stave off
functional decline caused by osteoarthritis just by being physically
active. The bottom line is to find ways to help people create and
maintain these healthy habits.”
The pilot trial was conducted at three senior
housing facilities and one senior center. Fifty-four older adults with
hip or knee osteoarthritis participated, and were randomly assigned to
take part in one of two programs:
● exercise with activity strategy training, or
● exercise with health education, which was based on education
materials from the Arthritis Foundation.
The groups participated in eight sessions during a
four-week period, and then two follow-up sessions during a six-month
period. During the trial, researchers measured patients’ pain, total
physical activity, and physical activity intensity. Objective physical
activity was measured by a wrist-worn accelerometer.
Study results are now online and are set to appear
in the October issue of
Arthritis & Rheumatism.
Along with Murphy, study authors from the U-M
Health System were Debra M. Strasburg, MS, PT; Angela K. Lyden, MS;
Dylan M. Smith, Ph.D.; Jessica F. Koliba, BA; Dina P. Dadabhoy, M.D.;
and Susan Wallis, M.D.
This research was supported by a grant from the
National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research, and the U-M Office
of the Vice President for Research.
More Links to
News Reports Related to Osteoarthritis
Sept.
29, 2008 – A program conducted in a senior center and senior housing
units has found that osteoarthritis patients who engaged in “activity
strategy training” along with regular exercise increased their physical
activity, more so than those patients who only took part in exercise and
health education sessions.
