Added benefit of knee injections plus exercise remains uncertain
A review of randomized trials found scattered advantages for some comparisons, but evidence quality was too low to establish that combined treatment works better.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The review could not establish that combining exercise with joint injections improves knee osteoarthritis outcomes more than either approach alone. Some comparisons favored particular treatments for pain, function or quality of life, but the authors rated the evidence very low quality. The abstract therefore supports uncertainty about added benefit rather than a preferred combined treatment.
Evidence quality was very low. The abstract also reports a pain estimate outside its stated confidence interval and omits outcome scales, making some numerical results difficult to interpret reliably.
Results depended on the comparison
Pain, function and quality-of-life results did not consistently favor the same injection. Some differences concerned which injection accompanied exercise, so they do not all answer whether adding an injection improves outcomes over exercise alone.
Longer follow-up did not settle the question
The review reported better long-term physical function with injection plus exercise than with exercise alone. However, its overall conclusion remained uncertain because of very low evidence quality, and the abstract did not define the follow-up windows.
The original publication
Exercises plus intra-articular injection for knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review with meta-analysis.
Brumini C, Natour J, Adolph SMM et al.
Adv Rheumatol · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41373020
- Record checked
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