Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2025 Jul 8:13:1616053.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1616053. eCollection 2025.

Effect of active mind-body movement therapies on older osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Congying Pi  1 , Zixi Wang  1 , Lingyu Su  1 , Huaiyu Jian  1 , Junyan Liu  2 , Kun Zhu  1 , Ting Zou  2 , Xiaoyuan Mao  2 , Qinghua Zhang  1 , Zhaoqian Liu  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Effect of active mind-body movement therapies on older osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Congying Pi et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Objective: To systematically review the literature to quantify and compare the effects of active mind-body movement therapies (AMBMTs) on pain, stiffness, and joint function in older adults with osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, CINAHL, and PEDro. The outcome measures included the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36).

Results: A total of 27 studies involving 1781 patients were obtained. The results of meta-analysis showed that compared with the control group, the patients had significantly lower WOMAC pain score (SMD: -0.50, 95%CI: -0.68, -0.32; p < 0.01), stiffness score (SMD: -0.71, 95%CI: -1.02, -0.40; p < 0.01) and joint function score (SMD: -0.66, 95%CI: -0.85, -0.47; p < 0.01).

Conclusion: AMBMTs are a complementary therapy to improve pain in older adult patients with OA, of which Tai Ji is the most effective.

Keywords: AMBMTs; SF-36; WOMAC; meta-analysis; osteoarthritis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram for search strategy and study selection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot showing the effect of AMBMTs on the WOMAC pain.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plot showing the effect of AMBMTs on the WOMAC stiffness.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plot showing the effect of AMBMTs on the WOMAC physical function.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Hunter DJ, March L, Chew M. Osteoarthritis in 2020 and beyond: a lancet commission. Lancet. (2020) 396:1711–2. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32230-3, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hunter DJ, Bierma-Zeinstra S. Osteoarthritis. Lancet. (2019) 393:1745–59. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30417-9, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cross M, Smith E, Hoy D, Nolte S, Ackerman I, Fransen M, et al. The global burden of hip and knee osteoarthritis: estimates from the global burden of disease 2010 study. Ann Rheum Dis. (2014) 73:1323–30. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2013-204763, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wallace JL. Prostaglandins, NSAIDs, and gastric mucosal protection: why doesn't the stomach digest itself? Physiol Rev. (2008) 88:1547–65. doi: 10.1152/physrev.00004.2008, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Goh SL, Persson MSM, Stocks J, Hou Y, Welton NJ, Lin J, et al. Relative efficacy of different exercises for pain, function, performance and quality of life in knee and hip osteoarthritis: systematic review and network Meta-analysis. Sports Med. (2019) 49:743–61. doi: 10.1007/s40279-019-01082-0, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources