Experts pinpoint best gym class for people with common hip problem: 'It's better than physiotherapy'

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A new study has revealed weekly group spin classes could be more effective than physiotherapy for people with a common hip problem. 

Hip osteoarthritis—which happens when the cartilage in the hip breaks down, causing pain and stiffness—affects nearly 3.2 million Britons.

Spin classes could be more cost-effective for the NHS and could help tackle waiting times for physiotherapy, according to researchers.

Experts from Bournemouth University and the University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) conducted a trial involving 211 participants. 

Half of the participants received traditional physiotherapy care, while the rest did an eight-week exercise and education programme known as Chain (cycling against hip pain). 

The Chain group attended weekly education sessions from a physiotherapist, lasting around 30 minutes, followed by a 30-minute session of static cycling led by a gym instructor. 

The researchers found those who completed the cycling classes had a 'statistically significant improvement in patient-reported function after treatment'.

The effects of treatment on patients were measured by the Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS) activities of daily living (ADL) subscale, which assesses how affect various daily activities. 

Their findings of the study were recently published in The Lancet Rheumatology. 

Researchers said the method 'showed superior outcomes compared with usual physiotherapy care, and the feasibility of delivering a low-cost, community-based intervention within the NHS was shown'.

However, they stress the 'longer-term benefits and broader generalisability warrant further investigation'.

It comes amid immense pressures on the NHS, with waiting lists in June spiralling to an all-time high. 

Some 1,361 patients in England had been waiting more than 18 months to start routine treatment at the end of April, up from 1,164 in March.

And 9,258 patients had been waiting more than 14 months to start treatment, up from 7,381 the previous month.

In total, 190,068 people in England had been waiting more than a year for specialist treatment for conditions like arthritis and reproductive problems, as well as common operations like hysterectomies.

Tom Wainwright, a professor of orthopaedics at Bournemouth University and a physiotherapist at UHD, said: 'For the time it takes to treat one patient using standard physiotherapy, we can treat multiple patients in a group session and provide them with better outcomes. 

'This has proved to be more cost-effective than standard treatment and so we hope this will contribute to reducing NHS waiting times for physiotherapy treatment in the future.'

Professor Rob Middleton, of Bournemouth University and an orthopaedic surgeon at UHD, added: 'Hip replacements cost the NHS over £6,000 per patient, so avoiding surgery for hip problems reduces the burden on the NHS, saves money, and provides better outcomes for patients.

'Now with this new study we can also see the potential for static cycling to save further money for the NHS by bringing down waiting lists for physiotherapy.'

Meanwhile Dr Peter Wilson, chief medical officer at UHD, said: 'We are an ageing population and increasingly we are seeing more patients with osteoarthritis that need either surgery or physiotherapy.

'Finding alternative ways to treat these patients could help reduce waiting times and the financial demand on NHS services.'

The Chain intervention was first launched in 2013 and patients who wish to take part are referred to UHD from their GP.

To bolster access on a national level, experts from Bournemouth University have developed a virtual course on their education app, allowing people to follow the programme from their home or local gym.

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