Journal CME, October 2023: Rehabilitative exercise scheduling: Effects on balance, functional movement performance, and pain perception in middle-aged women with knee pain: A randomized controlled trial-Rehabilitative exercise scheduling: Effects on balance, functional movement performance, and pain perception in middle-aged women with knee pain: A randomized controlled trial.

Rehabilitative exercise scheduling: Effects on balance, functional movement performance, and pain perception in middle-aged women with knee pain: A randomized controlled trial.

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The study investigates the effects of distributed versus massed rehabilitative exercise scheduling on balance, functional movement performance, and pain perception in middle-aged women with knee pain. Thirty-four female participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Rehabilitative Massed Scheduling (RMS), Rehabilitative Distributed Scheduling (RDS), or a Control Group (CG). The RMS group trained three times a week while the RDS group trained five times a week. All participants underwent assessments at baseline, mid (8 weeks), and post (12 weeks).<br /><br />Both exercise groups showed significant improvements in balance, functional performance, and pain perception compared to the control group after both 8 and 12 weeks. Notably, the study found that distributing exercise sessions resulted in similar benefits to massed sessions for balance and pain relief. However, the RDS group showed better performance in the right 30-second arm curl test, indicating a stronger Bottom-Up Rise Strength Transfer (BURST) effect, suggesting that distributed exercise may enhance strength transfer to untargeted muscle groups.<br /><br />Similarly, body composition, resting heart rate, and blood pressure showed improvements in the training groups but not in the control group. Functional tests such as the 30-second chair stand and 10-meter walk test improved significantly for both RDS and RMS groups, indicating enhanced physical functionalities.<br /><br />The study concludes that distributing exercise sessions can be as effective as massing them in improving rehabilitation outcomes and may be preferable when a higher BURST effect is desired. Conversely, if the total exercise volume remains the same, the benefits of fewer sessions per week are comparable to more frequent sessions. This information is vital for clinicians and rehabilitation providers to make informed decisions about exercise scheduling to maximize the utilization of time and resources while achieving effective patient outcomes.

Keywords

distributed exercise

massed exercise

rehabilitative exercise

balance improvement

functional movement

pain perception

middle-aged women

knee pain

strength transfer

rehabilitation outcomes