Can Osteoarthritis be Prevented? by Jerry Brainum 7/22

 

Osteoarthritis is the most common joint condition, affecting over 300 million people worldwide. The term "osteo" refers to bone and that is what osteoarthritis is: A wearing down of the cartilage of bone. This cartilage cushions the ends of bones and when it wears down, the bones rub against each other, causing the inflammation recognized as osteoarthritis (OA). It can happen in any joint but usually affects your fingers, thumbs, spine, hips, knees, or big toes. I have OA in my knees, shoulders, and spine. All of these areas produce pain that varies. Most of the time I feel minimal pain thanks to nutritional and exercise measures that I will later explain. But I can also say that my OA has produced the greatest limitations on my workouts. I've written many times that the primary limitations for training related to age aren't muscle, but rather connective tissue, including joints. Most of those who have trained with weights for years find that when they reach around age 40 their workouts become limited because of increased injury incidence related to less connective tissue integrity. That, in turn, necessitates lifting lighter weights and training less frequently as the connective tissue takes longer to recover between workouts when you reach 40. That coupled, with less neural activation of muscle with age, explains why anyone, even the most elite bodybuilders, loses some muscle with age. The muscle itself, because of its extensive blood supply compared to connective tissue, ages much slower, especially if exercise continues. Indeed, the exercise will help to maintain both connective tissue strength and muscle mass to a certain degree. But most importantly, it will prevent sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass with age associated with frailty, and increased mortality.

Many people think OA is an inevitable consequence of aging. And it's true that OA is more common with age, although under certain conditions it can show up at younger ages. But while OA is common, it is not inevitable. The question is though, can it be prevented? This is an important question because there is no effective treatment for the pain and disability associated with OA. What does exist are palliative measures, such as various anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce pain. The drugs can control pain, but do nothing to heal the joints or regrow lost cartilage. Regaining lost cartilage would be the ultimate cure for OA, and stem cell therapy may be the answer in the future. But at the moment, contrary to popular belief, the current state of stem cell therapy to restore lost cartilage is, as they say, not ready for prime time. In short, it hasn't yet been perfected enough to constitute a cure for long-standing OA. As such, the best way to deal with OA is to take measures that will prevent it. That is entirely possible. Most people . . .