Knee arthritis is a condition that affects millions of Americans every year. Arthritis is not a specific disease, but a condition that is denoted by the tenderness and swelling of the joints, and it can cause pain and stiffness, making it difficult to do very simple things without pain or discomfort.
There are several types of arthritis, but the most common are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. With osteoarthritis, the cartilage which covers the ends of the bones–and allows the joints to move smoothly–breaks down. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the joints.
Arthritis can be caused by several factors, including age, weight, genetic dispositions, infections, underlying chronic diseases, and repetitive stress injuries. This condition not only causes pain and discomfort, but it limits your range of motion.
Unfortunately, nothing can be done to “fix” arthritis in terms of making it go away completely. But there are ways to ease the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis so that you can function. The goal of any treatment regimen is to ease your pain and to improve your quality of life.
How Can Walking Help Arthritis?
Because knee arthritis attacks your knee joints, it may seem counterintuitive to think that walking can actually help you. But even though walking may be the last activity you feel like doing, studies have shown that walking can actually improve the condition of your knee joints in several ways.
First, people who exercise have increased levels of interleukin, a chemical that protects cartilage, so walking may slow down the degeneration of your cartilage. Second, studies have also shown that people who exercise have lower levels of a protein in their blood, cartilage oligomeric matrix protein, that is associated with the break-down of cartilage.
There are also other benefits. In our bodies, there is no blood flow to our cartilage. So how does this tissue get nutrients? From joint fluid. The only way to get the joint fluid to the cartilage is through movement, so when you walk, you actually bring needed joint fluid to your knees.
Walking, or any exercise, also has the tendency to help you to lose weight and to strengthen your muscles. When you lose weight, you can take a lot of pressure off of your knee joints. If you think about it, your knees not only have to support all of your upper body weight when standing, but have to absorb all the added pressure from movement. Since walking applies three to six times your body weight on your knee joints, this means that dropping ten pounds of upper body weight can relieve your knees of having to bear 30 to 60 pounds of pressure when you walk. Additionally, when you strengthen the muscles of your leg, your muscles can help to bear a greater load of the stresses caused by movement, instead of your knee joints.
In short, even if you may recognize the difficulty of embarking on an exercise program in light of your pain from knee arthritis, it is something you should consider. If you can work your way up to taking a walk regularly around your house or neighborhood, you would ultimately experience both short-term and long-term benefits, lessening your pain and stiffness, and maintaining or even increasing your ability to engage in the activities you currently enjoy.
How Much Should I Walk to Support My Arthritic Knees?
If you suffer from knee arthritis and don’t currently have an exercise routine, you should first consult a doctor before you begin any plan. At Tchejeyan Orthopaedics, we suggest that you schedule a consultation to discuss a walking plan that could benefit you.
But as a general rule, it is better to ease yourself into a routine. You may want to consider using a treadmill, or walking a short circuit, so that you can easily stop and rest when you get too tired or too sore. Make sure you wear good walking shoes with good shock absorption, and walk on a flat, even surface. You don’t need to walk a long way or to walk fast; you can take multiple short walks throughout the day.
Contact us today at Tchejeyan Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine to schedule an appointment. We can discuss whether an exercise regimen can help you, or whether there may be other therapies available that can help treat your knee arthritis.
