Is exercise safe with knee osteoarthritis?
Many of us have been told to rest and stop exercising if you have knee arthritis. It is common myth that arthritis is simply wear and tear of the joint. If that were that case, then it would stand to reason that more exercise and load would worsen the structural changes, pain, and arthritis.
It’s only natural that we stop. It’s intuitive: if it hurts, stop doing it. Except the evidence continues to challenge that belief.
Check out this study with 1200 participant with knee osteoarthritis and the effect that running had. This is what they found: “Among individuals over 50 years old with knee OA, self-selected running is associated with improved knee pain and not with worsening knee pain or radiographically defined structural progression. Therefore, self-selected running, which is likely influenced by knee symptoms and may result in lower intensity and shorter duration sessions of exercise, need not be discouraged in people with knee OA.”
We need to start challenging these long-held beliefs, and this will be part 1 in a series on osteoarthritis.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6095814/
If you are struggling with pain and want to continue to do activities that you love, give us a call and see how we can help.
Best In Health!
Your OrthoWell family
P.S. Any pain? Come on in for some some TLC. Our manual therapy only session is just $50. We can Graston, Cup, and Stretch out the tight and get you feelin’ right! ha