Effectiveness of an Eight-Week Low Impact Aerobic Dance Programme on the Management of Osteoarthritis
ADEOGUN John Olufemi, NNADOZIE Ngozichukwu Adaeze

Abstract
Pain and major physical disabilities are major symptoms of osteoarthritis. How patients cope with a chronic disorder greatly affects their quality of life. Randomnised controlled trials clearly shows that regular moderatelevel exercise does not exercebate osteoarthritis pain or accelerate the pathological process of osteoarthritis. The study therefore examined the effectiveness of eight week low impact aerobic dance in the management of oesteoathritis. Thirty (30) osteoarthritis patients from the Physiotherapy Clinic participated in the study. Joint flexibility of the participants improved as well as cardiovascular fitness. BMI of patients did not improve like other variables and this might be attributed to the short duration of the study. The study concludes that low impact exercises especially the ones involving dance can be an adjorn in the management of patient with osteoarthritis. For those who enjoy being with others, exercise dance classes for people with osteoarthritis are a safe and effective way to learn and enjoy exercise.

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