Effectiveness of supervised resistance training for patients with hip osteoarthritis - a systematic review

The overall effectiveness of supervised progressive resistance training among patients with hip osteoarthritis is only scarcely investigated. The objective of this study was to estimate the effectiveness of supervised progressive resistance training compared with common treatment for patients with hip osteoarthritis, focusing on patient-reported function, pain, health-related quality of life, performance-based function at end of treatment and patient-reported function at 6-12 months.

This was a systematic review and meta-analysis. A systematic search was performed on 30 January 2019 in eight electronic databases (Medline, Embase, Cochrane, Pedro, AMED, Scopus, SPORTDiscus and Cinahl). The methodology of the included studies and the overall quality of evidence was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach.

A total of 189 participants with hip osteoarthritis > 50 years of age were included in the three studies. A significant difference in favour of the supervised progressive resistance groups was found in patient-reported function (weighted mean difference (MD) = 9.13 (95% confidence interval (CI): 4.45-13.80)), hip-related pain (weighted MD = 7.83 (95% CI: 2.64-13.02)) and health-related quality of life (weighted MD = 6.80 (95% CI: 1.96-11.63)) at end of treatment. The overall quality of evidence was downgraded to low due to a lack of blinding in the included studies and due to imprecision.

Supervised progressive resistance training might be of clinical relevance for patients with hip osteoarthritis and was effective in improving patient-reported function, hip-related pain and health-related quality of life. The level of evidence is low and future studies may therefore affect the findings reported herein.