A review of over 200 studies has found that walking, cycling or swimming is the best medicine for osteoarthritic knees. Compared to other forms of exercise, aerobic training had the best short and long-term outcomes in terms of pain relief and mobility gains.
Around 30% of adults over the age of 45 show signs of knee osteoarthritis on X-rays. Roughly half of these people will experience knee pain and mobility problems. The study, published in The BMJ, set out to analyze which forms of exercise were best when it came to relieving knee pain.
