No relationship was found between exercise and the development of arthritis in the knee

No relationship was found between exercise and the development of arthritis in the knee.

OXFORD, United Kingdom – Exercise can be good for your health, but does all that wear and tear on your joints end up taking its toll? An international team says the answer appears to be no. A new study finds that there is no link between exercise and the development of arthritis in the knee.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 32 million adults in the United States have osteoarthritis, with the knee being one of the most common problem spots. Osteoarthritis (OA) is more common in women and older adults, with obesity being another common risk factor.

The analysis included six global community-based studies, examining 5,065 participants with and without knee osteoarthritis. The researchers followed these people for five to 12 years.

Heavy workloads are still a problem

Although the study found that recreational exercise such as running, cycling, swimming, or playing sports has little or no impact on the knee, any occupation that involves heavy physical workloads, kneeling, whole-body vibration, and repetitive movements is still risky. On the other hand, the review of adults over 45 found that recreational activities are mostly free of risk of injury.

“Our findings suggest that whole body physiological energy expenditure during recreational activities and time spent in physical activity were not associated with the outcomes of incident knee OA,” the researchers write in the journal.

The international team adds that further investigation of all components of physical activity – including the type of activity, intensity, frequency, and duration that people go through – throughout life would help paint a more complete picture of this bond. However, such data would be incredibly difficult to obtain.

“Given what we also know about the effects of manual occupation in knee osteoarthritis, it would be helpful to understand the association between activities based on load, along with relative lifetime volume (intensity and duration) in knee osteoarthritis using a prospective investigation, “the researchers told SWNS. in a sentence.

“Knowing that the amount of physical activity and the time spent doing it are not associated with the development of knee osteoarthritis is important evidence for both clinicians and the public who may need to consider this when prescribe physical activity for health, ”concludes Dr. Thomas Perry of the University of Oxford in a Press release.