Friday, December 23, 2011

How Well Does Exercise Work for Arthritis

By David Greene


It is understood that a program including exercise will provide pain relief for those suffering from arthritis. Exercise builds up the muscles around arthritic joints and helps unload stress from the damaged joint.

A recent Duke U. study has actually helped prove that exercise gives an excellent arthritis treatment even if no weight loss results. Interestingly, the study did not involve humans - only mice. One group of mice were fed a high fat diet and subsequently developed joint arthritis. After they reached the osteoarthritis point, modest physical activity was introduced into the daily routine and the mice had decreased symptoms even without losing weight.

So even if osteoarthritis arthritis pain is a result of excess weight, the Duke study showed that pain relief can be achieved with regular exercise even if no weight loss results. Blood tests that were done on the mice in the study showed increased cytokine levels. Numerous types of cytokines exist, some of which are anti-inflammatory and others that can actually cause osteoarthritis from breaking down cartilage. An adequate amount of exercise can alter the interaction among the cytokines and change the process of osteoarthritis.

The study is very interesting in that it is the first one in a long time to alter some of the knowledge we have with regards to exercise and osteoarthritis. When patients begin to develop osteoarthritis, it is common for them to avoid regular exercise because it hurts. Contrary to this avoidance, we know that a lot of sufferers find that participating in regular physical activity can decrease the joint pain from osteoarthritis and also decreased the need for prescription pain medicines.

A hip replacement is well-known as being one of the best quality of life surgeries in the world. There are risks associated with joint replacement and they're not meant to last forever even if the surgery was technically perfectly done. About 10 to 20 years is what should be expected out of a lifespan and revision procedures typically do not fare as well as the initial procedure.

The bottom line is that a joint replacement is a quality-of-life surgery and should only be done after considerable conservative treatment including exercise is attempted. Hopefully the Duke University research will lead to additional studies in humans that will give us some information with regard to the effect of cytokines on osteoarthritis.




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