Two hours of weekly exercise can reduce joint pain and GP visits, study suggests

People with sore joints who exercise for two hours a week have less pain, visit their GP less and take less sick leave, a study has found.

- Denis Campbell Health policy editor

The findings are from an analysis of how 40,000 people across the UK with hip, back or knee pain fared when they did two one-hour exercise classes for 12 weeks.

The impact on their lives was so great that it has led to calls for the NHS to make physical activity a standard part of treatment for the millions struggling with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

If the 3.7 million Britons with sore joints without a care plan exercised for two hours a week then they, their families, the NHS and the UK economy would benefit by as much as £34bn, researchers say.

Nuffield Health, Frontier Economics and Manchester Metropolitan University analysed the structured exercise programme that the private gym group has offered free of charge to more than 40,000 joint pain sufferers who used their UK gyms.

They did two one-hour classes a week in a Nuffield gym, led by a rehabilitation specialist, and did exercises to boost their mobility, stability, strength and cardiovascular health.