Razi Journal of Medical Sciences

Background: Osteoarthritis is the most common form of synovial joint diseases which affect old people all around the world and can lead to chronic pain and severe disability. The aim of present study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of swimming exercise on MIA-induced osteoarthritis in male rats’ knee joint.

Methods: Eighteen Wistar male rats (weight of 173±1 g, 8 weeks old) were randomly divided into 3 experimental groups: intact control, monosodium Iodoacetate (MIA) only and swimming. Intra-articular injection of MIA (50µl) was applied on rats’ right knee, similarly saline was injected in left knees. Training program used in the study was swimming with moderate intensity for 28 days. After the completion of the protocol, rats were killed and both knees of the animals were assessed histopathologically. One-way ANOVA (p<0/05) and post-hoc Tukey test were used for statistical analysis of data.

Results: Results indicated that moderate swimming training for 4 weeks significantly improved osteoarthritic symptoms of rats’ knee in 3 histopathological measures of Depth Ratio of Lesions (p=0/001), Total Degeneration Width (p=0/001) and Significant Degeneration Width (P=0/001).

Conclusion: The findings of the present study showed that a moderate swimming training program exerts a beneficial influence on cartilage lesions induced by monosodium iodo acetate injection. Thus, the training protocol used in this study can be recommended for the treatment of osteoarthritis.