My Aunt Helen once said to me “Sooner or later ole Uncle
Arthur-Itis will get you.” She lived to be 99 years old, so
apparently Aunt Helen was able to hold Uncle Arthur at
bay.
Osteoarthritis is one of the most common medical
conditions, affecting an estimated 15.8 million Americans.
Usually it is chronic and occurs when the cartilage erodes
that normally cushions the joint and protects it from impact.
As bone rubs against bone, a person will feel pain and have
difficulty moving the joint. Osteoarthritis can range from mild
to severe and age is a leading risk factor.
Symptoms of osteoarthritis include joint pain and swelling,
limited flexibility, grinding sensation with joint motion, and
numbness or tingling in an extremity.
In Aunt Helen’s day, doctors usually told the arthritis sufferer
to rest the joints. But if she were here today, her doctor
would likely suggest exercise and/or drugs or dietary
supplements instead.
There are prescription drugs available that help many
people and your doctor may recommend one of them.
Sometimes he may have to try several in order to find one
that helps you without undesirable side effects.
Another new treatment is a series of hyaluronate injections.
This provides lubrication and nutrition to the joint; however
some studies have found no benefit.
Also available are dietary supplements that help with
arthritis pain. Studies suggest that glucosamine sulfate, an
over-the-counter supplement, may provide benefit for those
with osteoarthritis in the knees. Other non-prescription
supplements include chondroitin and MSM which are often
combined with glucosamine into one capsule. Another
option is SAM-E, a product available in health food stores,
which some people find to be of benefit. SAM-E also helps
combat depression and should not be taken with
prescription drugs for depression.
Recently interest has developed in the role of exercise for
arthritis. Dr. Ronenn Roubenoff, MD, MHS, a rheumatologist
and associate professor in the Friedman School of Nutrition
at Tufts University in Boston, says, “Often what happens with
someone who has arthritis is that a doctor says to go out
and walk in order to reduce the pain. So the patient tries it.
But in people with arthritis, the knee is the joint most
commonly afflicted, followed by the hip, so walking hurts
and that leads to a negative cycle. The person stops
exercising and gains weight because they’re not engaged in
any physical activity. The extra weight then puts even more
pressure on the joints and the pain feels even worse.”
Indeed for every pound you weigh, each step you take puts
up to 3 pounds of pressure across your knees and hips.
Every step you take down, as when you are descending a
staircase or stepping off a bus, puts up to 6 pounds of
pressure on your lower limb joints per pound of body
weight. Gain just 10 extra pounds and you’re facing as many
as 60 extra pounds of pressure on your knees every time
you step off a curb.
Dr Roubenoff, along with Miriam Nelson, PhD and
Kristin Baer, PhD, of Tufts designed a study to test whether
certain kinds of exercises not generally recommended for
people with arthritis would help them move about more
freely and without pain.
After just 4 months, the two dozen exercisers in the Tufts
study experienced a 43 percent reduction in pain, compared
with just 12 percent in a control group that did not do any
strength training. And physical function in the exercise group
improved by 44 percent overall–almost twice as much as in
the control group.
Why is it that strength training can free up a person with
arthritis in a way that aerobics alone cannot? How can
strength exercise help a person with knee or hip arthritis to
walk and get around better, when walking without strength
training first might only cause more pain and
immobility?
Dr Roubenoff says: Think how a car functions on a bumpy
road. It’s the role of the shock absorbers to take each bump
as it comes so that a jarring shock isn’t sent up to the
passengers. If the shocks fail, the car’s spring and axle
assembly absorb the jolt, but the passengers really feel it.
In your body the muscles are the shock absorbers. The
joints are the springs and axles. Thus the better shape the
muscles are in, the better they can take each shock as the
body hits the ground, sparing arthritic joints and thereby
sparing the person further pain.
Strength training directly targets the muscles and when they
are stronger, you can walk and get around better because
the joints affected by arthritis are relieved of much of their
shock bearing burden.
I can testify that strengthening leg muscles help relieve
arthritis pain because I constantly hear participants in my
strength exercise classes tell me how getting stronger has
helped relieve their arthritis pain in knees, hips and
shoulders.
Now you’re probably asking, “What exercises should I do?”
Squats are the exercise most recommended for arthritic
knees–they help strengthen the quadriceps, the muscles in
the front of the thighs. For instructions on doing them
properly to avoid injury, visit my web site:
http://www.StrongOver40.com. My book “Over 40 & Gettin’
Stronger” contains an easy to learn weight training workout
for the entire body.
While squats help most people, I find that one person out of
everiy 100 cannot do squats without pain–they should not
do them and should check with their doctor.
Phyllis Rogers is not liable for any injury incurred while
doing the exercises recommended in this article.
Phyllis Rogers is a Certified Fitness Trainer and Specialist in Fitness for Older Adults. She is author of “Over 40 & Gettin’ Stronger” which contains an easy to learn strength workout which uses only dumbbells and can be done at home. She has taught more than 1200 strength classes for older adults Her book is available at Amazon.com and on her web site [http://www.StrongOver40.com] She can be reached at fitness9@mindspring.com and is available for speeches and workshops.
