I can’t exercise because I have knee/hip/back arthritis! Let’s re-think and re-phrase Osteoarthritis!
Introduction
As we all know, OsteoArthritis (or simply Arthritis) is one of the most disabling conditions around the globe1. It mostly affects joints such as knees, hips and lower back, leading to a decrease in physical activity levels, most of the times down to uncertainty on whether exercising is good, or if it will make things worse instead.
Re-Phrase And Re-Visualise
Exercise is the best thing for your Arthritis Symptoms
Studies7,8, show that the physical loading of the knee actually reduces the inflammatory response in the cartilage. It would be responsible for pain in the joint surroundings. So, physical activity, as long as in an adequate level and modality, actually decreases pain in the long term.
Strong evidence from more than 50 randomised controlled trials supports the efficacy of exercise. International guidelines recommend exercise, education and weight-loss as strong actors in the management of Osteoarthritis. However, to date, despite all this evidence, they are not used to their full potential in the rehab of knee arthritis with or without menisci injury. Even though they are non-farmacological and non-invasive components of rehab1 and therefore be able to reduce the economical and disability burden associated with arthritis.
Conclusion
So, what we propose is that after sharing this evidence-based information with you and by knowing better some processes related with pain and arthritis. You become empowered and take the reins of your lifestyle and symptoms, by being proactive about your pain and limitations. If this is hard to do on your own and you need some guidance and motivation, we’re here to help you achieve the potential there is in you.
You just need to take that first step!
Follow us on the next article as we explore some evidence-based exercises that have been showed to improve pain, potentiate daily activities, reduce intake of painkillers and sick leave, improving quality of life.
References:
- Skou and Roos, Good Life with osteoArthritis in Denmark (GLA:D™): evidence-based education and supervised neuromuscular exercise delivered by certified physiotherapists nationwide, BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders (2017) 18:72 DOI 10.1186/s12891-017-1439-y
- Ritter A, Franz M, Puta C, Dietrich C, Miltner WH, Weiss T. Enhanced brain responses to pain-related words in chronic back pain patients and their modulation by current pain. Healthcare (Basel). 2016 Aug 10; 4(3)
- Swannell ER, Brown CA, Jones AKP, Brown RJ. Some words hurt more than others: Semantic activation of pain concepts in memory and subsequent experiences of pain. J Pain. 2016; 17: 336–349
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Osteoarthritis: care and management [Internet]. [London]: NICE; 2008 [updated 2014 Apr; cited 2019 October 19]. (Clinical guideline [CG177]).
- Moseley, G.L., 2007, ‘Reconceptualising pain according to modern pain science’, Physical Therapy Reviews 12(3), 169–178. https://doi.org/10.1179/108331907X 223010
- Wann A., Knight M. Primary cilia elongation in response to interleukin-1 mediates the inflammatory response. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2012; 69:2967–2977
- Fu S., Thompson C. L., Ali A., Wang W., Chapple J. P., Mitchison H. M., et al. (2019). Mechanical loading inhibits cartilage inflammatory signalling via an HDAC6 and IFT-dependent mechanism regulating primary cilia elongation. Osteoarthr. Cartilage. 27 1064–1074. 10.1016/j.joca.2019.03.003