{"id":487033,"date":"2026-02-20T06:25:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T06:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/487033\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T06:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T06:25:08","slug":"effectiveness-of-exercise-may-be-overstated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/487033\/","title":{"rendered":"Effectiveness of exercise may be overstated"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AShare on Pinterest<\/a>Exercise may not be the most effective osteoarthritis treatment, a new study has found. Design by MNT; Photography by pixs4u\/Getty ImagesThere is currently no cure for osteoarthritis, and low-impact exercise is a popular treatment for managing disease symptoms. A new study challenges the effectiveness of exercise in easing osteoarthritis symptoms.Scientists believe their findings help remind doctors that there are other treatment options available for symptom relief and that ongoing exercise therapy may be needed. <\/p>\n

Recent studies estimate that in 2020, about 595 million people<\/a> around the world were living with osteoarthritis<\/a> \u2014 a type of arthritis that occurs when the cartilage between the body\u2019s joints wears down, causing pain, stiffness, inflammation, and an inhibited range of motion. <\/p>\n

Osteoarthritis can occur in any joints in the body, including the toes<\/a>, fingers<\/a>, knees<\/a>, hips<\/a>, and spine<\/a>. Because of the pain and limited motion range associated with osteoarthritis, although the condition is located in the joints, it can have a major negative impact on surrounding areas of the body, including pain and discomfort, pinched nerves<\/a>, soft tissue inflammation, and weakened muscles and tendons. <\/p>\n

\u201cOsteoarthritis is a leading cause of chronic joint pain and contributes to high healthcare use,\u201d Tim Schleimer, BSc, MSc<\/a>, PhD student in the Department of Nursery, Midwifery and Therapy Sciences at the Bochum University of Applied Sciences in Germany, told Medical News Today. <\/p>\n

Schleimer is the first author of a new study published in the journal RMD Open<\/a> that challenges the effectiveness of exercise in easing osteoarthritis symptoms.<\/p>\n

Scientists believe their findings help remind doctors that for people with osteoarthritis who can\u2019t or prefer not to exercise, there are other treatment options available for symptom relief. And while the symptom benefits of exercise may be small, physical activity itself still offers positive impacts to a person\u2019s overall health.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Osteoarthritis\u2019] societal and economic impact is large and growing, with prevalence projected to reach 1 billion people by 2050<\/a>. In the absence of approved disease-modifying therapies, management remains symptom-focused. Effective strategies to ease symptoms are therefore both a clinical and public health priority.\u201d
\u2014 Tim Schleimer, BSc, MSc<\/p>\n

For this study, researchers analyzed data from five previous reviews and 28 clinical control trials published up to November 2025 that studied the effects of exercise therapy on adults with osteoarthritis of the knee, hip, hand, shoulder, or ankle joint and that also reported one of the main study outcomes as self-reported pain and\/or physical function. <\/p>\n

\u201cExercise is universally recommended as first-line treatment for osteoarthritis and therefore the single most important conservative treatment,\u201d Schleimer said. \u201cHowever, its surrounding evidence is fragmented. Most trials evaluated one joint at a single time point, compared with a single alternative, and used different outcome scales or metrics.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a result, clinicians have lacked a clear overview of: the magnitude of benefit on a common, interpretable scale; how durable those benefits are; whether effects differ by joint; how exercise compares with other treatment approaches,\u201d he continued. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal was to synthesize the available data across joints, time points, and comparators, and express the effects on a metric that is clinically interpretable,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

At the study\u2019s conclusion, researchers found that exercise was associated with only small, short-lived effects on pain for knee osteoarthritis, little to no difference for hip osteoarthritis, and small outcomes for hand osteoarthritis, compared with no treatment. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese findings call for a more realistic perspective: the symptom relief provided by exercise appears to be small and likely does not last long, suggesting that ongoing exercise may be necessary to at least maintain these modest benefits.\u201d
\u2014 Tim Schleimer, BSc, MSc<\/p>\n

Similar outcomes with other therapies<\/p>\n

\u201cThese findings \u2014 which mainly pertain to knee osteoarthritis \u2014 indicate that treatment options other than exercise may provide similar symptom relief, which may question its strong promotion as the universal first-line standard,\u201d Schleimer said. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor patients who are unable to engage in exercise \u2014 for example, due to comorbidities, time constraints, or access barriers \u2014 alternative conservative treatments may offer comparable benefits. However, when considering potential harms, costs, and broader health benefits, exercise may still be preferable before progressing to pharmacological or surgical interventions,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Exercise not only treatment for osteoarthritis<\/p>\n

\u201cThe benefits of exercise for pain and function are likely small, but it may be a low cost, low risk treatment that can be practiced over the longer term and may also have positive effects on overall health. However, for those who simply do not like or are unable to exercise, it is not the only treatment that may improve symptoms.\u201d
\u2014 Tim Schleimer, BSc, MSc<\/p>\n

MNT spoke with Nora Tossounian, MD<\/a>, internal medicine physician at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, about this study, who commented that her first reaction to its findings was one of caution, not dismissal. <\/p>\n

\u201cExercise has been a vital part of a doctor\u2019s recommendation for patients with arthritis<\/a>, especially due to added cardiovascular benefits,\u201d Tossounian said. <\/p>\n

Exercise is \u2018not useless\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThis study doesn\u2019t mean exercise is useless, but it rightly questions a one-size-fits-all approach. It\u2019s a critical reminder that the treatment plan needs to be more nuanced, including setting realistic expectations with patients and integrating exercise as one part of a broader, personalized treatment plan rather than promoting it as a universal first-line fix for pain.\u201d
\u2014 Nora Tossounian, MD<\/p>\n

Tossounian also commented that osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability that severely diminishes quality of life, and since there is no cure, managing symptoms is the primary goal. <\/p>\n

\u201cContinued research is vital to determine exercise\u2019s role in the multimodality approach to treating this condition due to the immense personal and societal burden of untreated or undertreated disease,\u201d she continued. <\/p>\n

\u201cMore studies (especially prospective ones) need to be conducted to further elaborate the conclusions reached in this study. With more personalized medicine, hopefully, each and every patient who suffers from arthritis can achieve their goals through a customized approach,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n

MNT also spoke with Bert Mandelbaum, MD<\/a>, sports medicine specialist, orthopedic surgeon, and co-director of the Regenerative Orthobiologic Center at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics in Los Angeles, CA, who disagreed with the study\u2019s findings. <\/p>\n

\u201cHow could you ever say exercise does not help osteoarthritis?,\u201d Mandelbaum commented. \u201cExercise is the most important thing for people with osteoarthritis because it keeps us functional, it keeps our muscles strong, it keeps our heart strong, it keeps our lipoproteins<\/a> down, our cholesterol<\/a> down.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you take all the studies of 99-year-old people who are at the very lowest level of healthspan and dysfunction, and you say does exercise help a person in a wheelchair, (it\u2019s) hard to decipher that it would. I\u2019m not sure that you could show that and I think that\u2019s what they\u2019re getting to here. But if you take 100 40-year-olds with osteoarthritis, exercise is a critical part of their lifestyle and function, and significant improvement in what their longevity will be \u2014 it\u2019s associated (with) everything,\u201d he told MNT. <\/p>\n

Mandelbaum suggested that researchers design a study that examines longevity in terms of different types of exercise. <\/p>\n

\u201cIs it resistance exercise<\/a>?,\u201d he continued. \u201cIs it endurance exercise? Is it high intensity exercise? Each of which have been proven in the literature to have different effects on the function of a joint. So if I were reviewing that article, I would ask them to please stratify what you are calling exercise. It\u2019s like saying one medicine at seven different doses has the same effect.\u201d <\/p>\n

What’s the best way to manage osteoarthritis symptoms?\u00a0<\/p>\n

For readers who may have or have loved ones with osteoarthritis, we asked Tossounian what\u2019s the best way to treat and manage symptoms of the disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said the focus shouldn\u2019t be on abandoning activity, but on creating a comprehensive management plan, with key strategies including:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Weight management<\/a> to reduce stress on joints \u2014 every pound of weight lost translates into several pounds less force on the joints.Low-impact activities like swimming<\/a>, stationary bike<\/a>, or walking<\/a> to maintain mobility without aggravating pain.Physical therapy for targeted strengthening and movement coaching.Medical treatments when needed, ranging from medications and injections to joint replacement surgery for severe cases.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBenefits of exercise versus these other treatments depends upon the severity of arthritis and how much the level of pain affects the patient\u2019s ability to conduct activities of daily living,\u201d Tossounian said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Share on PinterestExercise may not be the most effective osteoarthritis treatment, a new study has found. Design by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":487034,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[49,48,407,84],"class_list":["post-487033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fitness","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/487034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}