Watch your weight and work that joint
THE BEST way to make stiff joints better is to move them -- and yourself -- as much as possible. Exercise and dietary weight loss are more effective than the usual treatment in improving physical function, and pain and mobility in overweight adults with knee osteoarthritis, reports a study in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.
Overweight, sedentary lifestyle and a poor posture are the leading causes of osteoarthritis, which is the primary cause of backache, joint replacement surgeries and cervical and lumber spondylosis.
Exercise not only helps people maintain their weight, but also keeps their joints flexible. Arthritis of the knee joint is quite common mainly because the knee is a weight-bearing joint that bears almost the entire body weight.
Increasingly, exercise and diet control have become the mainstay of osteoarthritis treatment. "Most people come for treatment when the joint has been irreversibly damaged," says a senior consultant, neuro and spinal surgery, Max Healthcare.
Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage gets damaged with age, which makes the bones rub against each other and cause pain. The most commonly affected joints are the fingers, and weight-bearing joints such as the knee and facet joints in the spine. "Bony growths called osteophytes in the joints create new pressure points," says the consultant.
Some people with arthritis avoid exercise because of joint pain, but physiotherapists use exercises called isometrics that involve no joint movement. Instead, muscles are flexed and relaxed alternately to strengthen them. "Regular exercise is the most effective non-invasive disease management method," says the consultant.
Treatment options: Aspirin and other drugs to reduce inflammation and pain; serious stomach ache is a common side-effect. Exercise, rest, heat and cold to relieve symptoms; Surgery sometimes used for pain, deformity, tendon rupture; Knee and hip replacement with artificial joint often restores motion. Other types: Juvenile arthritis, Gout, Scleroderma (connective tissue), Ankylosing spondylitis (spine) Lyme disease. Other infections: Lupus.
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