Moderate exercise may be good for osteoarthritis

Moderate exercise may be good for osteoarthritis

Contrary to existing belief, a new study has proved that moderate regular exercise is good for patients who run a risk of developing osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is the most common debilitating ailment in adults that is caused by the wear and tear of the joint cartilage. Common in knee and hip joints, osteoarthritis causes pain and inflammation and may even lead to the joint becoming altogether dysfunctional.

It was a common notion that osteoarthritis being a 'wear and tear' disease, exercising during the condition causes further abrasion of the cartilage. A study published in the November issue of the journal 'Arthritis and Rheumatism' has dismissed the myth.

More Info

“Exercise may have important implications for disease prevention in patients at risk of developing knee osteoarthritis” says the study conducted by two Swedish researchers, Dr. Leif Dahlberg, of the Malmo University, and Dr. Ewa M. Roos, of the Lund University.

The study involved a sample of 30 patients who had undergone a knee-surgery (meniscus repair) in the past 3-5 years and were therefore under high risk of developing osteoarthritis. Fifteen members of the group were put under a routine of one hour of aerobic and weight-lifting exercise, three days a week for four months.

The other fifteen members were treated as a control group. A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan of the patients revealed an increase in cartilage strength of the patients that were put under the exercise routine. "This study shows compositional changes in adult joint cartilage as a result of increased exercise, which confirms the observations made in prior animal studies but has not been previously shown in humans," said Dr. Dahlberg, in a news release.

The study was made possible only due to the latest MRI technology that can measure compositional changes in the cartilage even at the early stages of osteoarthritis, which was not the case with X-rays, which could detect cartilage damage only at the later stages of the disease.

Though the size of the sample was small but the study can have significant medical implications for prevention of osteoarthritis.