[Comparison of effects among Tai-Chi exercise, aquatic exercise, and a self-help program for patients with knee osteoarthritis].
OBJECTIVE
This study was to compare the effects among Tai-Chi exercise, aquatic Exercise, and a self-help program for knee osteoarthritis patients on symptoms of arthritis, muscle strength, balance, and difficulty of performing activities.


METHODS
There were 50 final subjects50. A non-equivalent pretest-posttest design was used. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS for Window. One-way ANOVA and Scheffe's multiple comparison test were used 8 weeks after each program.


RESULTS
There were significant differences in joint pain (p=.000), stiffness (p=.001), knee extensor peak torque (p=.006), knee flexor (p=.002), and difficult of performing activity (p=.000), but there was no significant difference in balance (p=.648). The Tai-Chi group was significantly different from the self-help group for knee extensor peak torque, knee flexor and stiffness on Scheffe's multiple comparison tests. In addition, the Tai-Chi group or aquatic group were significantly different from the self-help group for difficulty of performing activities (p<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
There are significant differences in the effects of the nursing intervention among the three groups. The Tai-Chi group and aquatic group were significantly different from the self-help group. However, it seems that Tai-Chi exercise may be more suitable than aquatic exercise in osteoarthritis exercise programs. Further studies with a longitudinal study are necessary to confirm the longer exercise period.
Lee
Hea-Young
HY
College of Nursing Science, Ewha Womans University, 11-1 Daehyun-Dong, Seodaemun-Gu, Seoul, Korea. hy59@ewha.ac.kr
D000368:Aged; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D012648:Self Care; D013550:Swimming; D026302:Tai Ji; D016896:Treatment Outcome