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Media Releases
MARRTC Study Seeks Ways to Fine-Tune Exercise Prescriptions
Columbia, Mo. (August. 1, 2006) Exercise is known to be beneficial for many with osteoarthritis (OA). However, little is known about how it works individually. A study funded by Missouri Arthritis Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (MARRTC) attempts to extend the current knowledge to this intriguing area by studying osteoarthritis of the knee.
"We hope to understand more about what specific types of exercise are best for different individuals and how different conditions of knee osteoarthritis affect a person's response to exercise," says the leading researcher of the study, Marian Minor, physical therapist (P.T.), Ph. D., who is MARRTC's co-principal investigator and chairs the Physical Therapy Department in the MU School of Health Professions.
Research has shown low- to moderate-intensity exercise to be helpful in reducing pain, improving function and increasing general fitness for people with OA, Minor says. However, the mechanism of exercise on the individual level is not clear. Doctors, nurses and people with OA have several questions to be answered: Why do some people benefit greatly from exercise while some do not? Why does what helps one person not work for the others? How does the individual condition of knee osteoarthritis affect how exercise works?
The purpose of this study, says Minor, is to seek answers to these questions, so that "the best exercise activities could be prescribed based on one's OA history and condition."
The study started early this year and is currently at the stage of recruiting more participants. Eligible participants - those diagnosed OA of the knee, at least 50 years old and not doing regular vigorous exercise - will attend either a strengthening or aerobic exercise program or a combination of both three times a week for three or six months, accompanied by knee examinations and fitness tests throughout the study.
Known as the most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis affects about 21 million Americans' lives. Marked by cartilage breakdown after a lifetime of "wear-and-tear", OA occurs more often as people age and after a knee injury. Signs of knee osteoarthritis include joint pain, swelling and stiffness.
If you have further questions or if you are interested in learning more about the exercise research study Dr. Minor is conducting, please call 573-882-4012 or email pt_research@health.missouri.edu.
The Missouri Arthritis Research Rehabilitation and Training Center (MARRTC) was established in 1971 at the University of Missouri-Columbia Arthritis Center. MARRTC is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (H133B031120) and is the only federally funded arthritis rehabilitation research and training center in the country.
As part of the MU Health Communication Research Center (HCRC), MARRTC's mission is to become a national leader in the areas of disability management and communication, improve the quality of life and promote independent living among people who have arthritis and arthritic conditions. MARRTC's core message is "Disability is everyone's issue."
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