Federal guidelines suggest older adults with osteoarthritis (OA) engage in a total of 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise a week, completed in increments of at least 10 minutes. For a variety of reasons, only about 10% of older adults with knee OA meet this goal. The good news, however, is researchers have found that as little as 45 minutes of moderate exercise such as walking weekly (even if not completed in 10-minutes segments) can still provide significant benefits.
The study, says Dr. Jordan, provides important insights regarding how people with knee symptoms and knee OA can set realistic and less intimidating exercise goals to help them begin exercising, with the intention of gradually building up to recommended guidelines. While the 45-minute threshold provides a very helpful ‘minimum’ initial goal, it is important to remember that more exercise may provide important additional benefits. Learn more about study, as well as Dr. Jordan’s “Perspective” piece on Healio Rheumatology.