Does exercise benefit people with osteoarthritis of the knee?

Clinical bottom lineThis Cochrane review suggests that compared to attention control/placebo, exercise showed slight improvements in pain and likely improvements in physical function, but little to no improvement in quality of life immediately post-intervention.It is unknown if these benefits are maintained long term as only two trials evaluated this. 1 Compared to no treatment/usual care/limited education, exercise improved pain, physical function, and slightly improved quality of life immediately post-intervention.Benefits were sustained long-term but were smaller (Table 1).