BU Research Blog

This week, Professor Tim Rees and colleagues from the Orthopaedic Research Institute published, in the prestigious British Journal of Sports Medicine, their position on the use of group exercise rehabilitation for those with chronic conditions. Supported by a UKRI Healthy Aging Catalyst Award, this followed their work using group exercise for people with hip osteoarthritis, and is inspired both by their research into group exercise and their training of physiotherapists with University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust.

Part of a wider collaboration with colleagues at University of British Columbia and Australian National University, this work is addressing the fact that an aging population and growing NHS waiting lists are leaving an increasing number of people with chronic conditions needing treatment. At the same time, there is compelling evidence for the use of exercise in the treatment of 26 conditions, but when exercise is prescribed, rates of adherence are typically poor.

Professor Rees and colleagues show meta-analytical evidence that people are more likely to sustain their involvement in exercise programmes if they are given the opportunity to exercise with others in social, or group-based, settings rather than individually. Such group-mediated exercise is not only effective for getting people to adhere to their exercise rehabilitation, but groups are a convenient and cost-effective mode of delivery of exercise for rehabilitation, because many people can receive help at the same time and often via a single delivery agent. But current practice does not train health and exercise professionals to lead effective exercise groups. Professor Rees and colleagues make several recommendations for practitioners, organisations, and researchers.