Dr. George L. Dixon - "Talking Fitness"

OSTEOARTHRITIS AND EXERCISE

Do you weigh 150 pounds? You put 1500 pounds of force across your knees when you squat or go up steps. If your joints are perfect, they will do this easily, if they are just a little abnormal they will complain. What brings on osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis? We don't know. There is clearly a genetic predilection. Overuse (years) can cause it. 16 million Americans have pain due to it, 40 million have some OA. It is not related to osteoporosis.

Osteoarthritis affects your knees, hips, spines and hands. If you take a chicken apart, the white, shiny, slick stuff on the ends of the bones is articular cartilage. That cartilage gets worn, thin, cracked and the bony edges of the joints flare out (spurs) and may cause pain in the surrounding support tissues. If you have minimal pain, have moderate or even severe deformity, and 60-70% of joint motion, exercise will help.

Exercise does not cause OA. A physically active lifestyle will prolong joint life (and everything else). If you have been inactive, then start slowly, preferably in warm water, to regain comfort, function and strength. Insurance may or may not pay the $50-100 it will cost to spend an hour with a Physical Therapist for advice in rehabilitation/exercise activities. (ask your doctor or Yellow Pages) Walking and stationary bicycle riding have been shown to greatly benefit joints afflicted. Start slowly. Light therapy has been reported to be of help with the pain.

Recently the chemicals,(nutritional supplements) glucosamine and chondroitin have been reported abroad to increase chrondrocyte (the cells that make cartilage) health. Ask at the health food store. Tylenol remains the drug of choice for painful OA.

Experimentally, cartilage cells can be harvested from your joint, grown in a culture, and injected back into your joint. They thrive as they do normally, in the sticky joint fluid. Very expensive and early, some success in rejuvenation.

The real dangers of OA are in having it, being overweight, and inactive. Call the Arthritis Foundation for more information and PACE Videos. Do yourself a favor and lose weight and become more physically active. (Have you ever heard me say those things before???)

More help is available in "Exercise a la Carte", here, at your bookstore or call 800-624-4952.