Avoid high-impact workouts and exercises if you have osteoarthritis of the knee, hip, or ankle. These activities often place stress on weight-bearing joints. Basketball, football, hockey, and soccer are all examples of high-impact sports.
Get Physical
Physical activity is the best available treatment for OA. It's also one of the best ways to keep joints healthy in the first place. As little as 30 minutes of moderately intense exercise five times a week helps joints stay limber and strengthens the muscles that support and stabilize your hips and knees.
Osteoarthritis may flare up after a person's health status changes. For example, this may occur due to an infection. Sudden or excessive weight gain can also cause symptoms to flare up because additional weight adds pressure to the joints.
The most common triggers of an OA flare are overdoing an activity or trauma to the joint. Other triggers can include bone spurs, stress, repetitive motions, cold weather, a change in barometric pressure, an infection or weight gain.
Pain and stiffness caused by arthritis of the knee can make walking difficult. In the later stages, your knee might even lock up. You might struggle even to move it. See your healthcare provider about treatments that might reduce your risk of such symptoms.
Walking is recommended for people with arthritis as it's low impact, helps to keep the joints flexible, helps bone health and reduces the risk of osteoporosis. If you do experience pain or you're very stiff afterwards try doing a bit less, factor in more rest and check in with your GP, if you need to.
The prognosis for osteoarthritis patients depends on which joints are affected and the level of symptomatology and functional impairment. Some patients remain relatively unaffected by osteoarthritis, while others can experience severe disability.
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) scientists have created a promising injectable cell therapy to treat osteoarthritis that both reduces inflammation and also regenerates articular cartilage.
NSAIDs are the most effective oral medicines for OA. They include ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) naproxen (Aleve) and diclofenac (Voltaren, others). All work by blocking enzymes that cause pain and swelling.
While braces don't keep knee arthritis from worsening, they can help reduce osteoarthritis knee pain. “You may find that braces are very comfortable for you,” says Dr. Thut, “or you may find that they don't help a whole lot.”
Although everyone with osteoarthritis is different, Halpern says that exercises that tend to aggravate knee osteoarthritis are deep squats, lunges, and any movement that pounds on the joint.
Pushing through pain is not the thing to do. If your joints are hot or swollen, exercise can increase the damage and cause more pain. Remember, arthritis pain and pain from a strenuous workout are not the same. A little soreness a day or two after a workout is OK.
You can start with short, brisk walks, climbing up and down stairs, or riding a stationary bike. As your endurance builds up, go for 30- to 45-minute sessions. Walking, biking, swimming, tai chi, yoga, and water aerobics are all good aerobic exercises for people with osteoarthritis.
It is recommended that adults with arthritis be moderately physically active for at least 150 minutes per week. Strength training is also recommended. Further, physical activity has been proven to reduce arthritis pain. You can do low impact physical activity to reduce joint pain.
Untreated arthritis will add to the degradation of the structures in and around the joint leading to more and more pain and a loss of function. The progression of arthritis may lead to requiring a total joint replacement.
There are four stages of osteoarthritis (OA): early, mild, moderate, and severe. You can also be diagnosed with a stage called pre-osteoarthritis. OA is a progressive joint disease caused by cartilage breakdown.
Your knee feels stiff, particularly when you first get up or when you've been sitting for a long time. Your knee looks swollen or feels puffy. You hear a cracking or grinding noise when you move your knee. Your knee feels wobbly, as if it could buckle or “give out."
Osteoarthritis symptoms range from stiffness and mild pain to persistent, severe joint pain. Common signs include swelling and tenderness, stiffness after getting out of bed, and a crunching feeling or sound of bone rubbing on bone.
1. You sit for long periods of time. If your knee hurts, you might want to stay off of it. But resting too much makes your muscles weaken and often makes knee pain worse.