| Guarding Against Arthritis In Joints |
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By Michael Woods
Toledo Blade Notice all the older people who have trouble walking, climbing stairs, sitting, rising from a chair, gripping objects with their hands and doing other common daily activities that involve moving the joints. Notice the number who have undergone knee or hip joint-replacement surgery. Then think osteoarthritis ( AH-stee-oh-ar-THREYE-tis), and start asking how to reduce your own risk of developing this most common form of arthritis. Osteoarthritis (OA) affects more than 20 million Americans. Some younger individuals, including many weightlifters, get OA as a result of joint injuries. But most cases occur in older people. About half of people over age 65 have OA; it is the No. 1 reason for limited mobility and joint-replacement surgery. OA involves loss of cartilage, the rubbery, slippery material that cushions the ends of bones in joints. Cartilage prevents one bone grinding directly against another. In OA, the surface of cartilage breaks down and wears away, sometimes allowing bones to rub together. Pain, swelling, stiffness and other symptoms result. A panel of 28 university and government experts has developed a blueprint for reducing the risk of OA as part of a review of the disease. Dr. David Felson of Boston University and Dr. Reva Lawrence of the National Institutes of Health chaired the panel, which reviewed more than 250 studies on OA. The panel concluded that heredity is a big risk factor. Genetic factors -- defective genes that children inherit from parents -- account for about half of OA in the hips and hands and a smaller percentage of OA in the knees. Nonetheless, the panel identified many ways of reducing the risk. Some also can help in relieving symptoms and preventing further joint damage in people who already have OA. Key prevention points from the panel report: - Watch your weight. Obesity puts stress on knee and hip joints, which have to support extra weight. Overweight people who lose just 11 pounds may cut their OA risk by 50 percent.
- Tone those quads. The quadriceps, that big muscle in the front of each thigh, moves the legs back and forth when walking. Weak quadriceps put stress on the knee joint. Small increases in quadriceps strength (20 percent in men and 25 percent in women) can reduce OA risk by 20 percent to 30 percent. Strengthening exercises range from simple half-squats done at home to working the quads with leg presses and knee raises on health club equipment. OA patients should get medical advice on the right kinds of low-intensity exercise.
- Pick sports carefully. Regular moderate running involves little or no increased risk. Sports that involve direct, high-intensity impact to the joints -- from contact with players, surfaces or equipment -- do have an increased risk. Football is one example.
- Recuperate from injuries. Get proper diagnosis and treatment for sports-related, occupational and other joint injuries. Then follow the medical professional's advice about treatment, taking time off to recuperate before resuming full activity.
- Be job-wise. Many cases of OA in men are job-related, due to occupations that involve repetitive kneeling or squatting along with heavy lifting. Look for different ways of performing such work that minimize the risky movements.
- Consider dietary supplements. Research shows that people who take daily doses of vitamin C have a lower risk of OA. Daily vitamin D pills protect against both new OA, and help may help prevent the disease from getting worse.
Following the prevention blueprint can be especially important for individuals whose parents or grandparents developed OA and who may have inherited high-risk genes. The panel predicted that researchers eventually will develop accurate genetic and other tests to identify high-risk people, so that prevention can start early. (For news and information about Toledo visit www.toledobalde.com. E-mail mwoods@nationalpress.com) (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.shns.com)
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