A sweeping (umbrella) systematic review and pooled analysis published in the open access journal RMD Open suggests that exercise therapy may provide only minimal and short lived relief from osteoarthritis symptoms. In some cases, the benefits may be little different from receiving no treatment at all. The researchers say these findings challenge the routine practice of recommending exercise as the first line treatment for reducing pain and improving mobility in people with this degenerative joint disease. They also argue that it may be time to rethink research priorities in this area. Exercise is widely promoted as an initial treatment for many forms of osteoarthritis. However, growing evidence has raised concerns about how meaningful and long lasting those benefits really are. Although many systematic reviews have examined exercise, no single analysis had pulled together all the available evidence comparing it directly with placebo, usual care, no treatment, medications, other therapies, or surgery.…