My Aunt Helen once said to me "Sooner or later ole Uncle

Arthur-Itis will get you." She lived to be 99 years old, so

apparently Aunt Helen was able to hold Uncle Arthur at

bay.

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common medical

conditions, affecting an estimated 15.8 million Americans.

Usually it is chronic and occurs when the cartilage erodes

that normally cushions the joint and protects it from impact.

As bone rubs against bone, a person will feel pain and have

difficulty moving the joint. Osteoarthritis can range from mild

to severe and age is a leading risk factor.

Symptoms of osteoarthritis include joint pain and swelling,

limited flexibility, grinding sensation with joint motion, and

numbness or tingling in an extremity.

In Aunt Helen’s day, doctors usually told the arthritis sufferer

to rest the joints. But if she were here today, her doctor

would likely suggest exercise and/or drugs or dietary

supplements instead.

There are prescription drugs available that help many

people and your doctor may recommend one of them.

Sometimes he may have to try several in order to find one

that helps you without undesirable side effects.

Another new treatment is a series of hyaluronate injections.

This provides lubrication and nutrition to the joint; however

some studies have found no benefit.

Also available are dietary supplements that help with

arthritis pain. Studies suggest that glucosamine sulfate, an

over-the-counter supplement, may provide benefit for those

with osteoarthritis in the knees. Other non-prescription

supplements include chondroitin and MSM which are often

combined with glucosamine into one capsule. Another

option is SAM-E, a product available in health food stores,

which some people find to be of benefit. SAM-E also helps

combat depression and should not be taken with

prescription drugs for depression.

Recently interest has developed in the role of exercise for

arthritis. Dr. Ronenn Roubenoff, MD, MHS, a rheumatologist

and associate professor in the Friedman School of Nutrition

at Tufts University in Boston, says, “Often what happens with

someone who has arthritis is that a doctor says to go out

and walk in order to reduce the pain. So the patient tries it.

But in people with arthritis, the knee is the joint most

commonly afflicted, followed by the hip, so walking hurts

and that leads to a negative cycle. The person stops

exercising and gains weight because they’re not engaged in

any physical activity. The extra weight then puts even more

pressure on the joints and the pain feels even worse.”

Indeed for every pound you weigh, each step you take puts

up to 3 pounds of pressure across your knees and hips.

Every step you take down, as when you are descending a

staircase or stepping off a bus, puts up to 6 pounds of

pressure on your lower limb joints per pound of body

weight. Gain just 10 extra pounds and you’re facing as many

as 60 extra pounds of pressure on your knees every time

you step off a curb.

Dr Roubenoff, along with Miriam Nelson, PhD and

Kristin Baer, PhD, of Tufts designed a study to test whether

certain kinds of exercises not generally recommended for

people with arthritis would help them move about more

freely and without pain.

After just 4 months, the two dozen exercisers in the Tufts

study experienced a 43 percent reduction in pain, compared

with just 12 percent in a control group that did not do any

strength training. And physical function in the exercise group

improved by 44 percent overall--almost twice as much as in

the control group.

Why is it that strength training can free up a person with

arthritis in a way that aerobics alone cannot? How can

strength exercise help a person with knee or hip arthritis to

walk and get around better, when walking without strength

training first might only cause more pain and

immobility?

Dr Roubenoff says: Think how a car functions on a bumpy

road. It’s the role of the shock absorbers to take each bump

as it comes so that a jarring shock isn’t sent up to the

passengers. If the shocks fail, the car’s spring and axle

assembly absorb the jolt, but the passengers really feel it.

In your body the muscles are the shock absorbers. The

joints are the springs and axles. Thus the better shape the

muscles are in, the better they can take each shock as the

body hits the ground, sparing arthritic joints and thereby

sparing the person further pain.

Strength training directly targets the muscles and when they

are stronger, you can walk and get around better because

the joints affected by arthritis are relieved of much of their

shock bearing burden.

I can testify that strengthening leg muscles help relieve

arthritis pain because I constantly hear participants in my

strength exercise classes tell me how getting stronger has

helped relieve their arthritis pain in knees, hips and

shoulders.

Now you’re probably asking, “What exercises should I do?”

Squats are the exercise most recommended for arthritic

knees--they help strengthen the quadriceps, the muscles in

the front of the thighs. For instructions on doing them

properly to avoid injury, visit my web site:

www.StrongOver40.com. My book “Over 40 & Gettin’

Stronger” contains an easy to learn weight training workout

for the entire body.

While squats help most people, I find that one person out of

everiy 100 cannot do squats without pain--they should not

do them and should check with their doctor.

Phyllis Rogers is not liable for any injury incurred while

doing the exercises recommended in this article.

Phyllis Rogers is a Certified Fitness Trainer and Specialist

in Fitness for Older Adults. She is author of "Over 40 &

Gettin' Stronger" which contains an easy to learn strength

workout which uses only dumbbells and can be done at

home. She has taught more than 1200 strength classes for

older adults Her book is available at Amazon.com and on

her web site http://www.StrongOver40.com She can be reached

at fitness9@mindspring.com and is available for speeches

and workshops.