Risk For Arthritic Knees Won’t Be Raised By Exercise

An avid runner, Dr. Kim Huffman, gets a fair amount of flak from her friends about her running habits and their impact on her body.

She said that people always tell her that if she waits until she turns 60, her knees will hate her for it. Every time she hears this, she thinks it’s ridiculous.

Risk For Arthritic Knees Won’t Be Raised By Exercise

She is well-armed the next time the topic comes up. It was found by an extensive British analysis of study data from before that there is absolutely no link between a person’s risk for knee arthritis and the amount of exercise.

The results of 6 clinical trials that were conducted at different places around the globe were combined by the research team. This created a pool of over 5,000 people who were investigated for signs of knee arthritis for 5 to 12 years.

The participants’ daily activities were tracked in each clinical trial along with the amount of energy they spent exerting themselves physically.

The researchers concluded that knee pain and arthritis symptoms had no correlation to either the amount of energy that they burned during exercise or the amount of time they spent doing physical exercise.

Huffman said that this dispels a myth that she has been trying to dispel herself for quite a while.

She is an associate professor at Duke University.

She added that if the amount of time and number of activities that people do are added up, neither of those contribute to knee arthritis. The study did not involve her.

Dr. Bert Mandelbaum plays the role of a chief medical officer of the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer team.

He is also the team physician for the US Soccer Men’s National Team.

He agreed that the study just strengthens the argument that the risk of arthritis is not increased by the amount of exercise in one’s personal life. He added that onset or progression is not influenced either.

Huffman thinks that people mistake the injuries that are caused due exercise to for the effect it has on their joints.

Huffman said that the only clear risks for knee arthritis are injuries, genetics, and the female sex.

She said that people feel that it is far more likely that a person who exercises will injure their knee. This is a myth and on the contrary, sometimes, exercise can even help prevent knee arthritis.

The diffusion of fluid into the joint is promoted by flexing and extending the knee during exercise, which in turn promotes better nutrition.

Inflammation in the knee joint is controlled by an elevated metabolism that is created by exercise.

The amount of load placed on the knee is reduced by weight loss.

The muscles around the knee are strengthened by exercise and this stabilizes it and reduces the risk of injury.

Huffman said that simply overusing or using your joint is not a problem. It is just correlated with injuries and the setting in of obesity. She said that genetics also play a huge role.

She said that choosing an exercise that has the least risk of a knee injury is your best bet.

She did not think that it is a huge problem if you want to go skiing, but it is much less likely if you chose an exercise like walking around in the neighborhood or training for a marathon.

She said that it’s just the risk of activities is high and the activities themselves are not bad.

Mandelbaum said that the benefits provided by exercise are far beyond healthy joints as physical and mental health are optimized.