In the authors' words
“Efficacy analysis (n=29) and intent-to-treat analysis (n=34) of the exercise therapy was effective in decreasing the tender point count and improving sleep quality, cognitive function, and physical function.”
What was measured
- Joint pain Reported an improvement
- Sleep Reported an improvement
- Memory and thinking Reported an improvement
- Mood No difference found
- Sticking with it Reported an improvement
About the study
- Type
- Randomised trial
- Who took part
- Midlife women, osteoarthritis or joint pain
- How many
- 60
- How long
- 16 weeks
- Exercise
- Water-based exercise
- Cited
- 76 times, per Europe PMC
- PubMed ID
- 19061736
How to read this. Each line is one study, summarised in plain language from its PubMed abstract, with the authors' own sentence underneath on the study page. A count of studies is not a verdict: trials differ in size, length and quality, and a result in one group of women may not hold in another. Nothing here is medical advice.
Summaries are generated, then checked by machine against the abstract they came from; any summary that could not be matched word for word was left out. Our clinical lead is reviewing the summaries topic by topic, and this note will change when that is done. Corpus last refreshed 2026-11-03. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix the summary or remove the study.
Similar studies
- A meta-analysis of six trials with 432 postmenopausal women with knee osteoarthritis found aquatic exercise improved symptoms but not pain, stiffness, function, or quality of life compared to control.
- A meta-analysis of 23 trials in people with osteoporosis, 95 percent female with an average age of 67, found exercise such as resistance training, balance training and Pilates improved mental health, quality of life and pain.
- In postmenopausal women with mild knee osteoarthritis, 16 weeks of aquatic resistance training changed cartilage composition on MRI and improved cardiorespiratory fitness by 9.8% compared with controls.
- Middle-aged women with fibromyalgia who did 16 weeks of warm-water aquatic exercise reported less pain and better cognitive function than a control group.