Osteoarthritis Exercise Trials Show Short-Term Gains But Fail to Sustain Lifelong Activity
The analysis urges clinicians to replace temporary exercise prescriptions with theory-based strategies that promote lifelong activity in osteoarthritis. Current RCT designs and reimbursement structures limit durability of benefits and fail to address rising sedentary behavior and comorbidity burden.
Next steps require trials that embed self-monitoring, environmental cues, and insurance-reimbursed maintenance phases lasting at least 24 months. Such designs can test whether adherence rates exceed 50 percent at two years and whether downstream reductions in joint replacement or cardiovascular events reach statistical significance.
Pellegrini et al.: Within five years, at least two large health systems will adopt 24-month reimbursed exercise-maintenance protocols for osteoarthritis, achieving >40% retention at 18 months.
Sources (3)
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- [2]Fransen et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2015(https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003132.pub3)
- [3]Messier et al. JAMA 2021(https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.13117)