The Influence of an 8-Week Multi-Component Exercise Program on Knee Muscular Strength, Pain, Dynamic Balance, and Crosswalk Walking Speed for Older Women with Knee Arthritis

Purpose: This study aims to explore the influence of an 8-week multi-component exercise program on muscular strength, pain, dynamic balance, and crosswalk walking speed for older women with knee arthritis.BR Method: A total of 20 older women with knee arthritis participated in this study. The group consisted of a control group and an exercise group (n=10 in each group). The multi-component exercise groups participated in low to moderate-intensity exercises at a welfare center for seniors. The multi-component groups participated in the study for 8 weeks, attending training sessions for 1 hour per day, fives times per week. Data were analyzed by 2 × 2 repeated-measures ANOVA and ANCOVA in SPSS (ver 23.0). A paired t-test was conducted despite the presence of a significant time-dependent effect in the ANOVA.BR Results: At follow-up, 1) There was a significant improvement in knee muscular strength in older women with knee arthritis after an 8-week multi-component exercise program. 2) There was a significant decrease in the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores among older women with knee arthritis after 8 weeks of a multicomponent exercise program. 3) There was a significant decrease in dynamic balance among older women with knee arthritis after 8 weeks of multi-component exercise program. 4) There was a significant decrease in crosswalk walking speed among older women with knee arthritis after 8 weeks of a multi-component exercise program.BR Conclusion: Our findings indicate that an 8-week multi-component exercise program may contribute to improvements in muscular strength, pain levels, and walking speed at crosswalks in older women with knee arthritis. It was concluded that an 8-week multi-component exercise program is beneficial for preventing knee arthritis in older women.