If you have joint pains, you should still keep moving. Inactivity worsens arthritis by preventing joints from healing. If moving your joints hurts, your doctor will check for a cause such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout, reactive arthritis from an infection or some other known source of joint pain.

If none of those are found, you will probably be told that you have osteoarthritis, the most common cause of chronic and progressive joint pain. It can eventually destroy the cartilage in joints, and is among the most prevalent chronic diseases and a leading cause of disability worldwide.

If you have sudden locking of your joint that gets better and then recurs, you may have “joint mice,” loose pieces of cartilage that slip between your cartilage to cause horrible pain. This can usually be cured by removing the loose pieces with arthroscopic surgery.

Osteoarthritis used to mean that your doctor had ruled out known causes of knee pain and had no idea what was causing your joint pain, but now we know that people with osteoarthritis have high blood levels of galectins that turn on a person’s immune system to cause inflammation, just as in rheumatoid arthritis or reactive arthritis.

Anything that causes inflammation can damage joints and inflammation is a more common cause of arthritis than wear-and-tear injuries. If your immune system stays overactive, the same chemicals and cells that are used to attack germs can attack and destroy the cartilage in your joints.

Arthritics Should Exercise

Many studies show that exercise is more effective than surgery in treating people with knee pain and degenerative meniscal tears. Osteoarthritis almost always worsens with inactivity. Exercise increases cartilage quality in osteoarthritis that weight bearing exercise reduced pain and improved joint function. Aerobic and strength training for 20 weeks markedly decreased knee pain and increased mobility. However, you need to be guided by pain. Stop what you are doing if the pain worsens and try another activity.

Running May Make Arthritis Worse

A recent study showed that running can increase joint damage in arthritic mice by increasing inflammation and running appears to increase inflammation with resultant joint damage in mice that have inflammatory arthritis. Running is a high-impact sport, and any exercise that puts too much force on a joint can increase joint damage. People with arthritis should not run, jump or participate in sports that involve the strong impact of your foot hitting the ground. Non-impact sports include cycling, swimming, water aerobics, cross country skiing, and use of machines such as ellipticals or stair-steppers where your feet are supported by the equipment as you move.

If you have joint pains and still want to run, take very short steps and if that doesn’t stop your pain, you need to try another sport. You may still be able to run if you can markedly reduce the force of your foot hitting the ground. When you run, both feet are off the ground at the same time, causing you to land with tremendous force that can injure joints and muscles.

My Recommendations

Exercise should be part of the treatment for most cases of arthritis because inactivity increases joint damage. Choose a non-impact sport such as cycling, swimming or cross-country skiing, or use exercise machines that support your feet and do not let you pound on the ground.

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Resonance Step + Stride Podiatry

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www.respod.co.nz