This article says that physical activity not only helps people with hip and knee arthritis, but also things like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and dementia. ~ Dr. Broussard
Søren T. Skou, PT, PhD
Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 2018 Volume:0 Issue:0 Pages:1–36 DOI: 10.2519/jospt.2018.7877
Synopsis
Hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA) are among the leading causes of global disability, highlighting the need for early, targeted, and effective treatments. The benefits on symptoms and impairments of exercise therapy in people with hip and knee OA are substantial and supported by high-quality evidence, underlining that it should be part of first line treatment offered to all people with hip and knee OA in clinical practice. Furthermore, unlike other treatments for OA such as analgesia and surgery, exercise therapy is not associated with risk of serious harm. Promoting and helping people with OA become more physically active alongside participating in structured exercise therapy targeting symptoms and impairments is crucial considering the majority of people with hip and knee OA do not meet physical activity recommendations. OA is associated with a range of chronic comorbidities, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and dementia, all of which are associated with chronic low-grade inflammation. Physical activity and exercise therapy not only improves symptoms and impairments of OA, it is also effective as prevention of at least 35 chronic conditions and as treatment of at least 26 chronic conditions with one of the potential working mechanisms being exercise induced anti-inflammatory effects. Patient education may be crucial to ensure long-term adherence and sustained positive effects on symptoms, impairments, physical activity levels and comorbidities. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, Epub 18 Apr 2018. doi:10.2519/jospt.2018.7877