Experts pinpoint best gym class for people with common hip problem: 'It's better than physiotherapy'
Hip osteoarthritis—which happens when the cartilage in the hip breaks down, causing pain and stiffness—affects nearly 3.2 million Britons.
Spin classes could be more cost-effective for the NHS and could help tackle waiting times for physiotherapy, according to researchers.
Experts from Bournemouth University and the University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) conducted a trial involving 211 participants.
Half of the participants received traditional physiotherapy care, while the rest did an eight-week exercise and education programme known as Chain (cycling against hip pain).
The Chain group attended weekly education sessions from a physiotherapist, lasting around 30 minutes, followed by a 30-minute session of static cycling led by a gym instructor.
The researchers found those who completed the cycling classes had a 'statistically significant improvement in patient-reported function after treatment'.
The effects of treatment on patients were measured by the Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS) activities of daily living (ADL) subscale, which assesses how affect various daily activities.
Their findings of the study were recently published in The Lancet Rheumatology.
Researchers said the method 'showed superior outcomes compared with usual physiotherapy care, and the feasibility of delivering a low-cost, community-based intervention within the NHS was shown'.
However, they stress the 'longer-term benefits and broader generalisability warrant further investigation'.
It comes amid immense pressures on the NHS, with waiting lists in June spiralling to an all-time high.
Some 1,361 patients in England had been waiting more than 18 months to start routine treatment at the end of April, up from 1,164 in March.
And 9,258 patients had been waiting more than 14 months to start treatment, up from 7,381 the previous month.
In total, 190,068 people in England had been waiting more than a year for specialist treatment for conditions like arthritis and reproductive problems, as well as common operations like hysterectomies.
Tom Wainwright, a professor of orthopaedics at Bournemouth University and a physiotherapist at UHD, said: 'For the time it takes to treat one patient using standard physiotherapy, we can treat multiple patients in a group session and provide them with better outcomes.
'This has proved to be more cost-effective than standard treatment and so we hope this will contribute to reducing NHS waiting times for physiotherapy treatment in the future.'
Professor Rob Middleton, of Bournemouth University and an orthopaedic surgeon at UHD, added: 'Hip replacements cost the NHS over £6,000 per patient, so avoiding surgery for hip problems reduces the burden on the NHS, saves money, and provides better outcomes for patients.
'Now with this new study we can also see the potential for static cycling to save further money for the NHS by bringing down waiting lists for physiotherapy.'
Meanwhile Dr Peter Wilson, chief medical officer at UHD, said: 'We are an ageing population and increasingly we are seeing more patients with osteoarthritis that need either surgery or physiotherapy.
'Finding alternative ways to treat these patients could help reduce waiting times and the financial demand on NHS services.'
The Chain intervention was first launched in 2013 and patients who wish to take part are referred to UHD from their GP.
To bolster access on a national level, experts from Bournemouth University have developed a virtual course on their education app, allowing people to follow the programme from their home or local gym.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Eating fewer ultra-processed foods could boost weight loss, trial suggests
Eating minimally processed foods and avoiding ultra processed foods (UPFs) could help people lose twice as much weight, a new trial has found. Sticking to meals cooked from scratch could also help curb food cravings, researchers suggest. UPFs include the likes of processed meals, ice cream, crisps, some breakfast cereals, biscuits and fizzy drinks. They tend to have high levels of saturated fat, salt and sugar, as well as additives and ingredients that are not used when people cook from scratch, like preservatives, emulsifiers and artificial colours and flavours. The trial, led by experts at University College London (UCL) and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH), involved 55 people split into two groups. Half were given an eight-week diet plan comprising minimally processed foods, such as overnight oats and spaghetti bolognese, while the other half were given foods like breakfast oat bars or lasagne ready meals. After completing one diet, the groups then switched. Researchers matched the two diets nutritionally on levels of fat, saturated fat, protein, carbohydrates, salt and fibre using the Eatwell Guide, which outlines recommendations on how to eat a healthy, balanced diet. Dr Samuel Dicken, of the UCL Centre for Obesity Research and UCL department of behavioural science and health, said: 'Previous research has linked ultra-processed foods with poor health outcomes. 'But not all ultra-processed foods are inherently unhealthy based on their nutritional profile.' He said the main aim of the study was to explore the role of food processing and how it impacts weight, blood pressure, body composition and food cravings. Some 50 people completed the trial, with both groups losing weight. However, those on the minimally processed diet lost more weight (2.06%) compared to the UPF diet (1.05% loss). The UPF diet also did not result in significant fat loss, researchers said. Dr Dicken said: 'Though a 2% reduction may not seem very big, that is only over eight weeks and without people trying to actively reduce their intake. 'If we scaled these results up over the course of a year, we'd expect to see a 13% weight reduction in men and a 9% reduction in women on the minimally processed diet, but only a 4% weight reduction in men and 5% in women after the ultra-processed diet. 'Over time this would start to become a big difference.' Those on the trial were also asked to complete questionnaires on food cravings before and after starting the diets. Those eating minimally processed foods had less cravings and were able to resist them better, the study suggests. However, researchers also measured others markers like blood pressure, heart rate, liver function, glucose levels and cholesterol and found no significant negative impacts of the UPF diet. Professor Chris van Tulleken, of the UCL division of infection and immunity and UCLH, said: 'The global food system at the moment drives diet-related poor health and obesity, particularly because of the wide availability of cheap, unhealthy food. 'This study highlights the importance of ultra-processing in driving health outcomes in addition to the role of nutrients like fat, salt and sugar.' The Eatwell Guide recommends the average woman should consume around 2,000 calories a day, while an average man should consume 2,500. Both diet groups had a calorie deficit, meaning people were eating fewer calories than what they were burning, which helps with weight loss. However, the deficit was higher from minimally processed foods at around 230 calories a day, compared with 120 calories per day from UPFs. Professor Rachel Batterham, senior author of the study from the UCL centre for obesity research, said: 'Despite being widely promoted, less than 1% of the UK population follows all of the recommendations in the Eatwell Guide, and most people stick to fewer than half. 'The normal diets of the trial participants tended to be outside national nutritional guidelines and included an above average proportion of UPF, which may help to explain why switching to a trial diet consisting entirely of UPF, but that was nutritionally balanced, resulted in neutral or slightly favourable changes to some secondary health markers. 'The best advice to people would be to stick as closely to nutritional guidelines as they can by moderating overall energy intake, limiting intake of salt, sugar and saturated fat, and prioritising high-fibre foods such as fruits, vegetables, pulses and nuts. 'Choosing less processed options such as whole foods and cooking from scratch, rather than ultra-processed, packaged foods or ready meals, is likely to offer additional benefits in terms of body weight, body composition and overall health.' Commenting on the study, Tracy Parker, nutrition lead at the British Heart Foundation, said: 'These findings support what we have long suspected – that the way food is made might affect our health, not just the nutrients it contains. 'The way this study was designed means it is more reflective of real-world conditions than previous research on ultra-processed foods. 'Unlike earlier observational studies, this was a randomised controlled trial where participants were provided with all their meals, and the diets were carefully matched to meet the Eatwell Guide – this allowed researchers to isolate the effect of food processing itself, making it more likely that the differences seen after eight weeks were due to how the food in their diets was processed, not just what was in it. 'Completely cutting UPFs out of our diets isn't realistic for most of us, but including more minimally processed foods – like fresh or home cooked meals – alongside a balanced diet could offer added benefits too. 'Mediterranean-style diets, which include plenty of minimally or unprocessed foods such as fruit, vegetables, fish, nuts and seeds, beans, lentils and wholegrains, have consistently been shown to reduce our risk of heart attacks and strokes.'
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Child is rushed to hospital 'after falling from height' in Dagenham
A five-year old boy has been rushed to hospital after 'falling from a height' in Dagenham this afternoon. Paramedics rushed to the scene near Dagenham Headway Tube station in east London at 2.31pm. The child is understood to have fallen from a height and was taken to a major trauma centre following the incident.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Boy, 5, rushed to hospital after plunging from a height as air ambulance responds & cops close street
A FIVE-year-old boy has fallen from a height and been rushed to a major trauma centre. Paramedics raced to the scene, nearby Dagenham Headway Tube station, in east London, at around 2.30pm today. Church Elm Lane was cordoned off from Tasty kebab shop to Church Elm Lane Health Centre. Emergency services, including an air ambulance, arrived to transport the youngster to a major trauma centre. It is understood the boy's injuries are not life threatening. The Met Police confirmed there have been no arrests. A spokesperson for the force said: "Police were called at 14:32hrs on Monday, 4 August to reports of a child who had fallen from height in Church Elm Lane, Dagenham Officers, the London Ambulance Service and the London Air Ambulance attended. "A five-year-old boy was taken to hospital for treatment. His injuries are not life threatening. There have been no arrests." A London Ambulance Service spokesperson added: "We were called at 2.31pm today to reports of a person fallen from height on Church Elm Lane, Dagenham. "We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and a paramedic in a fast response car. "We also dispatched London's Air Ambulance. "Our first paramedic arrived in less than five minutes. We treated a child at the scene and took them to a major trauma centre by road." 1
