NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -- Men and women about to undergo hip or knee replacement benefit from a program of cardiovascular fitness, strength training, and flexibility exercises prior to surgery, according to results of a clinical trial.

Dr. Daniel S. Rooks, from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical School in Boston, and other members of his team recruited patients scheduled to have a hip or knee replaced with an artificial joint. Participants were randomly assigned to exercise or to education alone. A total of 78 patients completed the study.

As described in the medical journal Arthritis and Rheumatism, the exercise protocol consisted of sessions three times a week for six weeks. For the first three weeks, the subjects performed light exercises in chest-deep water. During the next three weeks, strength training activities -- such as the seated row, leg press, and biceps curls -- were added to the water exercises, along with cardiovascular and flexibility exercises.

No matter which joint was replaced, 65 percent of patients who were in the exercise group were discharged directly home after surgery, versus 44 percent of those in the control group.

At 8 and 26 weeks after surgery, participants in the exercise program had improved more in physical function and pain, particularly patients who had knee replacement surgery.

"Our findings suggest that men and women with severe arthritis can safely increase lower-extremity muscle strength through participation in a program of cardiovascular fitness, strength training, and flexibility exercise prior to total hip arthroplasty or total knee arthroplasty," the team concluded.