OSTEO arthritis can start at any time, and without any obvious reason, principal physiotherapist at Logan Physio Sandy Clarke says.
Mr Clarke said it was a lifelong joint disease which caused cartilage on the ends of the bones to degrade, thin and sometimes disappear.
It was also the leading cause of physical inactivity among people over 65.
“It was previously thought of as a ‘wear and tear disease’, which led many people to think that they cannot and should not be physically active,” Mr Clarke said.
“But that’s wrong, because cartilage needs moderate load through physical activity to regenerate itself.”
He said there were three lines of treatment. The first is exercise, education and weight loss which can be managed through physiotherapy and a program called GLAD (Good Life with Arthritis).
The other options involve drugs and surgery.
So, here’s why it’s important to start exercising:
- Exercising twice a week was shown to have a much greater pain relieving effect than painkillers.
- Cartilage needs to be appropriately loaded to regenerate itself
- When loaded and unloaded, synovial fluid is pumped in and out of the cartilage
- This stimulates new development of cartilage which improves its shock absorbing capacity
- Starting to exercise early will have a greater effect on the development of cartilage compared to if you start when you already have severe stages of OA
The GLAD program consists of:
- A first appointment explaining the program and collecting data on your current functional ability
- Two education sessions which teach you about OA, how the GLA:D™ Australia exercises improve joint stability, and how to retain this improved joint stability outside of the program
- Group neuromuscular training sessions twice a week for six weeks to improve muscle control of the joint which leads to reduction in symptoms and improved quality of life
