How to protect your joints against injury and osteoarthritis as you age
gareth jones
The knee is the most commonly affected joint osteoarthritis. It is the largest joint in the body and carries more weight than the hips. It is probably also our most complex joint. All of this means that from an injury perspective, there is a lot more that can go wrong. It also makes the knee a difficult joint to successfully replicate and replace.
When he comes knee damageThere is a genetic component. Leg shape affects how you load the knees; Most people are slightly bow-legged, but others have slightly bow-kneed knees. Both problems accelerate wear on different parts of the knee joint, increasing the risk of arthritis. Genes also play a role in cartilage quality and possibly inflammatory factors that lead to osteoarthritis. But there is still a lot we can do to reduce our risk of damage and the eventual need for a replacement part. knee replacement.
Here are the top mistakes we make in middle age when it comes to knee health.
Gain weight
The #1 mistake made in midlife when it comes to knee health gain weight. If you see that your weight is increasing, you should not ignore it because there is ample evidence from long-term studies showing how it affects the knee in particular. Since our knees are located lower on the body, they are more vulnerable than our hips. However, losing weight will reduce this risk.
If you are walking on flat ground, the amount of load on your knees is between 1½ and 3 times your body weight. If you go up and down the stairs, it can lift up to six times your body weight. For someone who has only gained 10 pounds over the years, that’s potentially 14 pounds more weight on his knees every time he takes a step. This is very important.
When it comes to specific dietary advice, there is no scientific evidence that any food affects knee osteoarthritis or its progression. Vitamin D is important for overall bone health and is Australians are lacking in this regard. That’s why it’s a good idea to take supplements. Apart from this, I recommend a healthy and balanced diet.
Not getting enough exercise…
The second most common mistake is thinking: “My knees are a little sore, I’ll stop doing any activity.” A sedentary lifestyle leads to muscle deconditioning, and we need muscles that will help reduce the load on the joints.
But more than that, in people who do little or no exercise, the smooth, shiny cartilage tissue in the knee that allows the bone to slide over the bone without friction and pain deteriorates.
Our cartilage has no blood supply to nourish it. It gets its nutrition from the synovial fluid spread inside. Movement circulates the fluid and encourages its production. Apparently our cartilage also needs loads and some stress to stay healthy. Cartilage responds to load by producing different proteoglycans that can improve its structure.
If you were to choose exercise, I’d probably go for a lot of walking as well as cycling and cross-training, which doesn’t damage the knee joint. Swimming is also good, especially swimming with straight legs. If you can do the forward crawl with a straight leg, choose this over the breaststroke stroke, which puts some extra stress on the outside of the knee.
Recreational running is also good; There is evidence that moderate runners have a lower risk of knee osteoarthritis than non-runners. If you already have mild arthritis in your knee, I instinctively recommend lower-impact activities. However, one study involving this scenario found that people with early knee osteoarthritis (confirmed on X-ray) who chose to run regularly did not show any improvement in their osteoarthritis, compared to patients who did not run for four years. In fact, runners experienced less knee pain.
…or too many wrong exercises
Current movement to do a lot squats and lunges with heavy weights are not good for the knees.
Interestingly, I’m starting to see injuries in really young people in their mid-20s and early 30s who are losing a lot of cartilage below their kneecaps after very high-impact, high-repetition exercise programs. Hyrox and CrossFit. Similarly, there is evidence that competition runners have a higher risk of knee osteoarthritis compared to recreational runners.
The question of what constitutes “recreational running” and “competitive running” is actually difficult to answer because it varies between studies. However, there is a link between longer distance and an increased risk of knee osteoarthritis, so a five-kilometer run in the park is definitely preferable to a marathon.
Neglecting muscle strength
Muscles are important to absorb some of the load. If they are strong, they can take some of the weight of the joint and help protect the joint from damage. Particularly important here are the quads (large muscle group in the front of the thigh). There are longitudinal studies showing that people with knee osteoarthritis have measurably weaker quads even before osteoarthritis shows up on an X-ray. (This suggests that muscle weakness is not a result of joint damage, but a potentially modifiable risk factor that precedes it.)
Muscle strength definitely improves pain and function; It improves not only the strength of the quadriceps, but also the hamstrings, calf muscles, glutes, and hip abductors. General strength exercises will be good for this; repetitions of moderate weights or low weights. Don’t do 50 weighted squats in a row! It’s about moderation and finding a sensible balance.
Not being aware of the injury
With any injury, damage occurs immediately, followed by joint instability and inflammation in the long term, significantly increasing the risk of osteoarthritis. Whatever your sport, study your sport and learn the most common injury risks and how to reduce them. Personally, I especially love skiing, which is a very common cause of knee arthritis. Anterior cruciate ligament injuries.
There is very good evidence successful research program and a public awareness campaign in Vermont, Canada, that understanding how to reduce your risk of knee injury while skiing can make a big difference. “Knee-friendly skiing” includes position, technique, the way you fall, and your boot bindings.
General strengthening exercises are also important to avoid injuries. There are neuromuscular exercise programs. NemexA supervised eight-week exercise regimen that focuses on keeping joints moving as they should. It’s about controlling the position of the knee and where the body is above the knee.
There is good evidence that these programs can reduce ACL injuries in young athletes (ACL injuries significantly increase the risk of later developing knee osteoarthritis). I see no reason why this shouldn’t also be true for people in middle age.
Core-strengthening exercises, pilates, and anything that helps with balance and your ability to avoid falling, slipping, and twisting in unusual ways will help you stay injury-free, which will significantly reduce your risk of osteoarthritis.
ignoring the pain
A well-functioning joint is a bit like a tire. If it has a flat spot somewhere or a rock is stuck in it, it may still appear to work, but eventually it will explode, perhaps even after 10,000 kilometers. If you experience sudden onset of knee pain after a twisting motion, injury, or fall and it does not improve after four to six weeks, this is something to get checked out. Some meniscus tears can be repaired. Once upon a time this was only done on young people, but now, if a person has a repairable tear, regardless of age, we must repair it to keep the shock absorber working and reduce the risk of arthritis.
Other common red flags would be ACL injuries as a result of abnormal sliding and rolling of the knee. If you feel like you can’t trust your knee, if it feels unstable when going down, or if it moves into a slightly abnormal position, get it checked. In case of injury, do not try to exercise or continue stoically as normal. Listen to your body and be guided by the pain.
Gareth Jones is a specialist knee surgeon and associate professor of orthopedics at Imperial College London. He leads a research team whose focus includes treating and preventing early osteoarthritis of the knee. As told to Anna Moore.
Telegraph, London
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