To identify effective strengthening exercise programs and provide rehabilitation teams and patients with updated, high-quality recommendations concerning traditional land-based exercises for knee osteoarthritis. A systematic search and adapted selection criteria included comparative controlled trials with strengthening exercise programs for patients with knee osteoarthritis. A panel of experts reached consensus on the recommendations using a Delphi survey. A hierarchical alphabetical grading system (A, B, C+, C, D, D+ or D-) was based on statistical significance (p < 0.5) and clinical importance (⩾15% improvement). The 26 high-quality studies identified demonstrated that various strengthening exercise programs with/without other types of therapeutic exercises are generally effective for improving knee osteoarthritis management within a six-month period. Strengthening exercise programs demonstrated a significant improvement for pain relief (four Grade A, ten Grade B, two Grade C+), physical function (four Grade A, eight Grade B) and quality of life (three Grade B). Strengthening in combination with other types of exercises (coordination, balance, functional) showed a significant improvement in pain relief (three Grade A, 11 Grade B, eight Grade C+), physical function (two Grade A, four Grade B, three Grade C+) and quality of life (one Grade A, one Grade C+). There are a variety of choices for strengthening exercise programs with positive recommendations for healthcare professionals and knee osteoarthritis patients. There is a need to develop combined behavioral and muscle-strengthening strategies to improve long-term maintenance of regular strengthening exercise programs.

To identify effective mind-body exercise programs and provide clinicians and patients with updated, high-quality recommendations concerning non-traditional land-based exercises for knee osteoarthritis. A systematic search and adapted selection criteria included comparative controlled trials with mind-body exercise programs for patients with knee osteoarthritis. A panel of experts reached consensus on the recommendations using a Delphi survey. A hierarchical alphabetical grading system (A, B, C+, C, D, D+, D-) was used, based on statistical significance (P < 0.5) and clinical importance (⩾15% improvement). The four high-quality studies identified demonstrated that various mind-body exercise programs are promising for improving the management of knee osteoarthritis. Hatha Yoga demonstrated significant improvement for pain relief (Grade B) and physical function (Grade C+). Tai Chi Qigong demonstrated significant improvement for quality of life (Grade B), pain relief (Grade C+) and physical function (Grade C+). Sun style Tai Chi gave significant improvement for pain relief (Grade B) and physical function (Grade B). Mind-body exercises are promising approaches to reduce pain, as well as to improve physical function and quality of life for individuals with knee osteoarthritis.

To identify effective aerobic exercise programs and provide clinicians and patients with updated, high-quality recommendations concerning traditional land-based exercises for knee osteoarthritis. A systematic search and adapted selection criteria included comparative controlled trials with strengthening exercise programs for patients with knee osteoarthritis. A panel of experts reached consensus on the recommendations using a Delphi survey. A hierarchical alphabetical grading system (A, B, C+, C, D, D+, or D-) was used, based on statistical significance (P < 0.5) and clinical importance (⩾15% improvement). The five high-quality studies included demonstrated that various aerobic training exercises are generally effective for improving knee osteoarthritis within a 12-week period. An aerobic exercise program demonstrated significant improvement for pain relief (Grade B), physical function (Grade B) and quality of life (Grade C+). Aerobic exercise in combination with strengthening exercises showed significant improvement for pain relief (3 Grade A) and physical function (2 Grade A, 2 Grade B). A short-term aerobic exercise program with/without muscle strengthening exercises is promising for reducing pain, improving physical function and quality of life for individuals with knee osteoarthritis.

Objective: The objective of this systematic review was to summarize the evidence pertaining to the use of social media by health professionals to facilitate chronic disease self-management with their patients. Methods: A systematic approach was used to retrieve and extract relevant data. A total of 5163 citations were identified, of which seven unique studies met criteria for inclusion; one was a randomized controlled trial, two were prospective cohort studies, and four were qualitative studies. The following social media platforms were evaluated: discussion forums (6 studies) and collaborative project (1 study). Results: The available evidence suggests that health professionals perceived discussion forums and collaborative projects to be useful social media platforms to facilitate chronic disease self-management with patients. No relevant evidence was found regarding the use of other social media platforms. Most studies indicated positive findings regarding health professionals’ intention to use discussion forums, while the one study that used a collaborative project also indicated positive findings with its perceived ease of use as health professionals felt that it was useful to facilitate chronic disease self-management with patients. Mixed findings were seen in regards to health professionals’ perceived ease of use of discussion forums. The most common barrier to using social media platforms was the lack of time in health professionals’ schedules. Conclusions: Discussion forums and collaborative projects appear to be promising resources for health professionals to assist their patients in self-managing their chronic conditions; however, further research comparing various social media platforms is needed.

Evidence suggests physical activity (PA) is beneficial for people diagnosed with cancer. Clinical practice guidelines provide specific recommendations based on available research and are useful in informing evidence-based practice and guiding future research. Little is known on the extent and quality of guidelines on PA targeted to the cancer population. The objectives of this systematic review were to: 1) identify recent clinical practice guidelines including PA or exercise recommendations for people with cancer and 2) critically appraise the methodological quality of the included guidelines. A systematic search of four electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PEDro) and supplementary sources was conducted. Two reviewers independently scanned articles and selected guidelines for inclusion according to the following criteria: published in English, developed or updated in previous five years (January 2012-June 2017), published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, including ≥1 specific recommendation on PA or exercise, and relevant to adults diagnosed with cancer. Subsequently, two trained assessors independently appraised the included guidelines using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II tool. Average scores for six domains (scope and purpose; stakeholder involvement; rigour of development; clarity of presentation; applicability; and editorial independence) and overall quality were calculated. From the literature search, we identified 29 articles, representing 20 sets of guidelines meeting the selection criteria. The guidelines were applicable to the following cancer populations: general (n = 9), breast (n = 5), lung (n = 2), colorectal (n = 1), head and neck (n = 1), myeloma (n = 1) and prostate (n = 1). The guidelines were generally of moderate methodological quality (mean AGREE II overall quality score: 4.6/7, range 2.5–6). The area of lowest quality was in the domain of applicability (mean AGREE II quality domain score: 40%), whereas the strongest domains were related to scope and purpose (81%) and clarity of presentation (77%). Although there are limitations in the primary research informing the recommendations, guidelines of acceptable quality exist to direct stakeholders on targeted PA recommendations for a range of cancer populations. Improvement is needed in the applicability of guidelines to enhance their relevance and clinical use. Health professionals can play an important role in supporting people with cancer throughout the disease trajectory and benefit from access to well-developed and appropriate materials to interpret research knowledge on effective rehabilitation strategies, including PA.