The Impact of Physical Activity on Weight-Bearing Knee Joint

The world's most common joint disease, osteoarthritis (OA) is a major cause of disability among adults over the age of 50 !hether "hysical activity is beneficial or detrimental to weight#bearing joints, $nees in "articular, has been o"en to debate %ome studies im"licate "hysical activity in "rovo$ing $nee OA, while others suggest that "hysical activity may actually "rotect the $nee joint from the disease &onfounding the matter is the fact that $nee injury is a $nown ris$ factor for $nee OA Then, there's the unclear role of osteo"hytes in $nee OA "rogression, com"ounded by the limitations of radiogra"hs for monitoring small yet significant changes in joint structure 'or a clearer "icture of the im"act of "hysical activity on the $nee joint, a team of researchers in Australia turned to magnetic resonance imaging (()*) This highly accurate high#tech tool ma$es it "ossible to directly visuali+e joint structures, detect early and "re#disease states of OA, and assess the influence of "otential ris$ factors Ta$ing advantage of this novel methodology, the researchers studied the effect of "hysical activity, in various degrees of intensity, fre,uency, and duration, on $nee structures in a total of -5. healthy adults between the ages of 50 and ./, with no history of $nee injury or OA Their findings, "resented in the October -00. issue of Arthritis &are 0 )esearch (htt"122www interscience wiley com2journal2arthritiscare), suggest that e3ercise that is good for the heart is also good for the $nee )ecruited from an established community#based research "o"ulation, the (elbourne &ollaborative &ohort %tudy, subjects all underwent ()* e3ams on the tibia bone and tibiofemoral joint of their dominant $nee4the one on the leg they first ste" forward when wal$ing ()* was used to assess cartilage defects and bone marrow lesions, as well as measure cartilage volume, an indicator of cartilage health and strength 5oss of $nee cartilage is lin$ed to worsening $nee sym"toms in OA sufferers %ubjects also answered s"ecific ,uestions regarding their e3ercise and wal$ing habits, as well as routine activity at home and at wor$, to determine their level of "hysical activity in both the 6 months and . days "rior to the study To create a baseline for each subject, "ast information on weight, height, body mass inde3, and "hysical activity, from ,uestionnaires com"leted between 7//0 and 7//8, was obtained Then, the team "erformed a series of analyses and com"arisons Among the notable findings, both baseline and current vigorous "hysical activity4e3ercise that gets the heart "um"ing and the body sweating4were associated with an increase in tibial cartilage volume, free from cartilage defects !hat's more, tibial cartilage volume increased with fre,uency and duration of vigorous activity )ecent weight#bearing e3ercise was also lin$ed to increased tibial cartilage volume and reduced cartilage defects 'inally, moderate "hysical activity, including regular wal$ing, was associated with a lower incidence of bone marrow lesions

9This is the first study to demonstrate a "otentially beneficial effect of wal$ing on the reduction in the ris$ of bone marrow lesions in the $nee,9 notes the study's leading author, :r 'lavia ( &icuttini 9;one marrow lesions have been associated with "ain and radiogra"h#defined "rogression of osteoarthritis, ty"e ** collagen degradation, and loss of cartilage volume 9 :emonstrating a "rotective effect of "ast and current vigorous "hysical activity on $nee cartilage in healthy adults, this study strongly su""orts the benefits of e3ercise for older individuals at ris$ for OA Though both the intensity and duration of "hysical activity had a significant "ositive im"act on cartilage, the ideal amount of "hysical activity for joint health remains unclear 9Our data suggest that at least -0 minutes once "er wee$ of activity sufficient to result in sweating or some shortness of breath might be ade,uate This is similar to, if not somewhat less than, the recommendations for cardiovascular health,9 :r &icuttini observes