Two Hours of Weekly Physical Activity Reduces Joint Pain and Doctor Appointments, Study Reveals

Individuals experiencing sore joints who participate in two hours of exercise weekly experience decreased aching, consult their GP more rarely, and take fewer absence from work, according to new study.

Study Results and Methodology

The findings emerge from an evaluation of how forty thousand participants with hip, back or knee pain participated in two 60-minute fitness programs each week for a quarter-year.

The impact on their lives was so substantial that it has sparked calls for medical services to make physical activity a routine component of treatment for countless individuals dealing with joint and muscle disorders.

Economic and Wellness Benefits

If the millions of individuals with joint pain but without a care plan exercised for two hours each week, then they, their families, medical services, and the UK economy would profit by as much as thirty-four billion pounds, analysts estimate.

The systematic activity regimen was analyzed by health economists, who assessed the no-cost program offered to more than 40,000 individuals with discomfort across multiple boroughs.

Volunteers participated in two 60-minute sessions each week in fitness centers, guided by qualified instructors, and completed activities to improve their movement capability, postural control, muscle power, and circulatory fitness.

Significant Improvements Recorded

• Showed on average 35% less pain

• Consulted their general practitioner almost 30% less frequently

• Took almost half as many sick days

• Depended on their family to look after them substantially reduced

"Personalized, systematic exercise is one of the optimal treatments for people with chronic issues. If exercise were a drug, it would be the most powerful treatment on the earth, yet it is still under-prescribed.

"Integrating it as a treatment into conventional medicine would revolutionize lives on a magnitude no drug could match", stated a senior medical director.

Economic Value Analysis

The analysis calculated that if one hundred eighty-four thousand of the three hundred thirty-four thousand individuals with joint pain took part in the free exercise program, that would create 1.7 billion pounds of "social value".

Extending this to include the UK population would increase that total to £34 billion, the analysts said. This would be made up of eighteen billion pounds of advantages from improved health, thirteen billion pounds of advantages to relatives and carers, a three billion pound boost to the UK economy, and £230 million in direct savings for the NHS.

Individual Benefits

For illustration, participants' wellbeing indicators improved by 13%, which was estimated to be equivalent to six thousand six hundred eighty pounds in monetary value. In the same way, their reduction in sick days was estimated to be worth a notable amount while the 10% increase in their relatives' life satisfaction was estimated at £4,765.

Workplace and Productivity Benefits

At the beginning of the pain management scheme, 25% of those who joined the programs were unemployed due to health, and by the end of the three-month period, nearly 10% were able to return to work.

An academic expert commented that the analysis revealed "the revolutionary impact of physical activity" in managing discomfort among the twenty-five million UK residents with various chronic illnesses and constitutes "a model" for a nationwide scheme of professionally-guided exercise.

Medical System Proposals

The NHS should "include systematic movement therapy in best practice guidance" and encourage hospitals and GP practices to refer eligible patients to them, the report said.

However, patient advocacy leaders noted that while movement enhanced quality of life for individuals with musculoskeletal issues, it was not the "solve-all" the analysis suggests; they could have trouble fitting exercise into their lives and often encountered "difficulties in obtaining effective treatment and assistance from healthcare systems, prolonged periods to obtain a medical assessment and shortage of therapy choices".

Existing Initiatives

A six-week long pain reduction scheme of education, exercise and self-management managed by some NHS providers in England, called Discomfort Reduction, which 15,000 people have experienced, has been shown to boost quality of life for patients with joint inflammation and also reduce costs for medical services staff hours and finances.

Official Position

A government health agency representative said: "We understand that experiencing long-term aching can have a substantial effect on overall health. We will improve healthcare systems by transitioning care from sickness to proactive health to help people fit and independent for extended periods through our decade-long wellness strategy.

"We will also harness the power of technology which can help enable people engaged. This involves ensuring all patients with persistent discomfort have access to wearable technology as part of their treatment, particularly in disadvantaged communities."