Working Out May Ease Pain of Arthritis

A little exercise won’t hurt an older person’s arthritic knee, and may even make it feel better, researchers say.

The researchers found no increase in fluids that indicate cartilage is breaking down and say the exercisers reported less joint pain.

The study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison was reported recently in Atlanta at a meeting of The Arthritis Health Professions Assn., a section of the Arthritis Foundation.

The study looked at walking as therapy for victims of osteoarthritis, a disease in which cartilage thins out and wears away. Osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis, affects an estimated 15.8 million Americans.

In the 12-week project, 15 people with knee osteoarthritis were put into a program of range of motion exercises, strength work and easy walking for an hour a day, three days a week.

They were compared to 15 others who also had the disease but did not exercise.

All 30 were older than 57. Although aging does not cause osteoarthritis, the condition becomes more likely as people grow older.

The range of motion exercises were done by extending and lowering the legs while seated in a chair, said the study’s author, Judith C. Bautch, an assistant professor of nursing. The strength exercises required the exerciser to extend the legs and keep them out.

The distance walked varied from half a block to a mile and a half.

The researchers checked the lubricating synovial fluid of the knee for keratin sulfate and hydroxyproline, both of which increase when cartilage breaks down. They found no significant change and concluded that mild exercise doesn’t make an osteoarthritic knee worse.

The researchers had wanted to see if the exercise program made the arthritis sufferers’ joints better by regenerating cartilage. The study did not find the improvement, but Bautch said this means the threshold at which the benefit kicks in is still unclear.

Mild exercise can stimulate cartilage growth, while heavy exercise loads can break it down, the researchers said.

Arthritis sufferers who want the benefits of exercise should develop a regimen with experts on the disease, Bautch said.

“I don’t want people to get the impression they can go out and walk,” she said. Range of motion and exercise work is also important, said Bautch, who stressed that the walkers used canes to reduce the weight on the knee.

The apparent safety of walking could be a good sign for the overweight, who are at increased risk of osteoarthritis. Exercise is one way to lose weight.

The walkers in the study were obese; the control group was less fat but still overweight.

The findings fit the Arthritis Foundation’s recommendation of exercise to fight the deterioration of bone and cartilage, and stiffening of the joints. The foundation notes that exercise also keeps muscles around the joints strong.

Exercisers also said they had less joint pain both at the time they were reporting on it and looking back at the week before, Bautch said.

“Subjectively, we believe there is a relationship,” Bautch said. However, she said, “We can’t definitely say, based on this study, that the decrease in pain is due to exercise.”