Got Arthritis? Get Moving
People with severe osteoarthritis are not typically gym rats. Their debilitating disease makes it difficult even to perform everyday tasks and move around; when the pain gets bad enough, many consider joint replacement surgery. But two new studies suggest that an exercise habit may reduce the need for inpatient rehabilitation after surgery and can even slow the progression of the disease.
Both studies appeared in this month's Arthritis Care & Research. In the first, researchers followed osteoarthritis patients preparing for surgery to replace either a knee or hip joint. Some were put on a six-week fitness routine that included exercises in the pool, cardiovascular workouts on a stationary bike or elliptical trainer, and strength and flexibility training. The study found that exercise before surgery cut the odds of being sent to a rehabilitation facility–as opposed to being allowed to recover at home–by 73 percent, compared with patients who did not exercise. People who exercised also boosted their muscle strength before and after surgery.
Only the people prepping for hip replacement reported improved function before their operations. However, an exercise routine clearly is worthwhile for knee replacement candidates too, says study author Daniel Rooks of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Maybe a longer lead time is required: "Those with knee osteoarthritis need more time to bring about gains," says Rooks. And perhaps exercise routines need to be tailored differently for each joint.
The second study looked at whether people with arthritis of the knee can slow their decline with weight training as opposed to simple movement exercises without any additional weight. People who did either type of exercise lost strength over a 30-month period, but the group using weights did so at a slower rate. And X-rays showed that the narrowing of joint space that signals worsening arthritis occurred less frequently in the strength trainers.
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