Cochrane Systematic Review

Title: Exercise for osteoarthritis of the knee

Good to know: In adults with knee osteoarthritis, exercise may reduce pain immediately after treatment (low-certainty evidence) and probably improves physical function (moderate-certainty evidence). Added to another treatment, exercise probably improves pain and function (moderate-certainty evidence). Some average differences are small relative to prespecified thresholds for clinically important change. Adverse events may or probably occur slightly more often, depending on the comparator.

Limitations: Many trials were small and at unclear or high risk of bias; participants were usually aware of their treatment. Exercise programmes and comparators varied substantially. The clinical importance of the average benefits remains uncertain.

Evidence: Cochrane Review (published in December 2024); 139 randomised trials involving 12,468 participants; exercise compared with attention control or placebo, no treatment or usual care, and exercise added to another intervention compared with that intervention alone.