Comparison of the Effect of 8 Weeks of Land Exercise Therapy and Hydrotherapy on Functional Activities of Elderly Women with Knee Osteoarthritis

Objectives: Knee osteoarthritis is one of the most common musculoskeletal problems in older adults. Pain, stiffness, tenderness, decreased muscle strength and joint range of motion, impaired proprioception, and balance problems lead to impaired physical function, making the person incapable of performing functional activities. Therefore, it is necessary to use strategies to control and reduce the complications of the disease and improve their daily functional activities. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of land exercise therapy and hydrotherapy on functional activities in older women with knee osteoarthritis. Methods & Materials: Fifty-four female patients with knee osteoarthritis within an age range of 60-69 years (height: 159.96 ±5.53, weight: 76.93±9.50) were selected as available, and were randomly divided into two groups of land exercise therapy and hydrotherapy for 8 weeks. To evaluate the patients' functional activities, timed up & go, 30- second chair stand, 40-meter fast paced walk test, stair climb test, and 6-minute walk test were used. SPSS V. 26 and analysis of variance for repeated measures were used for data analysis. Results: The results showed that The results showed that both land exercise therapy and hydrotherapy methods caused intra-group changes in functional tests (P ≤ 0.05) but the difference between the two groups was not significant (P ≥ 0.05), which indicates the same effect of the methods used in the study. Conclusion: Land exercise therapy has had the same effect as hydrotherapy on timed get up & go, 30- second chair stand, 40-meter fast paced walk test, stair climb test, and 6-minute walk test, which means that it has shown effective for the patients’ functional activities. Any of these methods can thus be recommended according to the conditions of each patient.