Effects of Multicomponent Exercise on Subchondral Bone and Cartilage in Postmenopausal Women with Knee Osteoarthritis

"A multicomponent exercise regimen applied is comprised of the step-aerobic and resistance training programs alternating every two weeks. The trainees participate in supervised training sessions 3 times a week for 8 months. Each session will include a 10-minutes warm-up, 30-minutes of effective training part and a 10-minutes period for cooling down.~Step-aerobic: The program includes accelerating and decelerating through forwards and sideways movements with stops and turns to music. The degree of difficulty of movements and steps as well as training intensity will be gradually increased by increasing the height of the step benches.~Resistance training: The participants will undergo a progressive resistance training program. Resistance training will emphasize training of following muscle groups: Quadriceps and hamstrings, hip abductors, adductors and extensors, and calf muscles. In addition to lower limb exercises, trunk and upper body exercises will be applied at intervals."

The treatments that will be provided to the members of a reference group represent the standard rehabilitative management for knee OA patients. The home exercises focus on functional exercises maintaining lower extremity flexibility and muscle function. The home exercises are instructed to be carried out three times a week, each work-out lasting 30 minutes.