Arthritis isn’t a killer, so it might seem low on a prepper’s list of concerns. On the other hand, pain from arthritis sure degrades quality of life.
Moreover, success in dealing with many emergency situations might require you to be physically capable; and arthritis is definitely the enemy of being physically capable.
Working through the pain of arthritis
Here at BBBY we want to help you thrive; no matter what life brings, and reducing the occurrence and/or symptoms of arthritis definitely fits that bill. As always, I must remind you I’m not a physician; these comments are not prescriptions; I just hope you can learn a bit to make your own informed decisions.
This is Part II of the series on Prepping for Arthritis here at Beans, Bullets, Bandages, and You (for Part 1, CLICK HERE), (for Part 3, CLICK HERE) .
Exercise has a mixed reputation when it comes to arthritis.
Unsurprisingly, having arthritis makes people not want to exercise. When the cartilage that cushions joints and reduces the friction of bone movement is eroded, moving those joints hurts.
This is the most common sort of arthritis (osteoarthritis) that occurs when the cartilage padding the bone end wears away. Thanks to CFCF* for the diagram.
Is exercise hero or villain when it comes to arthritis development?
Many people worry that exercise might cause arthritis. It seems to make sense; using tools more wears them out faster, right? But joints are living tools, and living things remodel themselves to deal with the stresses put on them. So listening to the combined voices of research, here’s what it comes down to:
Injury to joints definitely makes them more likely to develop arthritis, probably because the injury messes up the normal patterns of force transfer in the joint. Weird joint loading wears cartilage faster. The inflammation that accompanies injury doesn’t help, either. As a consequence, the types of sports where you see lots of joint injuries do make participants more li
This person will forever be at increased risk for osteoarthritis in this knee. Thanks to KintechOrthopaedics** for the photo.
To a much lesser extent, high impact and intense exercise also raises the risk of developing arthritis. This is probably because the ‘wear and tear’ aspect outruns the ‘remodel stronger’ aspect with this type of activity. However, the real effects of this were pretty weak in the research, and limited to elite athletes.
These people are at a small increased risk of developing osteoarthritis.
This being is less likely to develop post-traumatic arthritis.
Conversely, regular but not extreme exercise seems to be protective. Cartilage gets more dense and connective tissues stay strong and therefore resist injury. Those active in midlife develop arthritis later or not at all. The effect isn’t that strong, but given all the other (and stronger) positive effects of exercise, it’s a clear win. As a bonus, those who are active tend to weigh less, and obesity is the single biggest risk factor for developing arthritis. Excess body weight overloads the joints and wears the cartilage away faster than it can rebuild.
Once the arthritis has developed, what is best?
The answer here is clear. It’s well worth the discomfort of the first few minutes of exercising with arthritis. (The pain reduces considerably as the tissues warm and stretch.) People who do exercise with their arthritis see it progress more slowly and produce less symptoms. They hurt less and move better; and those gains last 24/7.
Why? Mild stressors (such as exercise) cause hormone release that calms inflammation, for one thing. Also, compression of joints stimulates the cells that rebuild bone and cartilage. Moving joints is also critical to maintain their mobility, particularly when they’re inflamed. Some scar tissue naturally gets laid down when a tissue is inflamed. If the joint isn’t being moved, the scar tissue will freeze the joint in place, or even pull it into nasty deformations.
The best kind of exercise?
What kind is best? The kind you’ll do! And, secondarily, doesn’t tend to pop knee ligaments. Beyond that, everything’s got its good points. Aerobic exercises improved walking function more; resistance exercise promotes cartilage development and joint mobility more. If it were me … and it may well be one day … I’m gonna keep moving.
A fine day to prevent some arthritis, wouldn’t you say?
I’m not going to list every article I read for this, but here’s a few citations just so you know I’m not just making this stuff up:
David J Hunter1,2 and Felix Eckstein3,Exercise and osteoarthritis. J Anat. 2009 Feb; 214(2): 197–207. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2008.01013.x
Rahnama, N., & Mazloum, V. (2012). Effects of Strengthening and Aerobic Exercises on Pain Severity and Function in Patients with Knee Rheumatoid Arthritis. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 3(7), 493–498.
Messier SP, Loeser RF, Miller GD, et al. Exercise and dietary weight loss in overweight and obese older adults with knee osteoarthritis: the Arthritis, Diet, and Activity Promotion Trial. Arthritis Rheum. 2004;50:1501–1510.
* CFCF (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
**By KintechOrthopaedics (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons