In this episode, Dr. Brian Cole and Steve Kashul talk about osteoarthritis, the loss of cartilage that covers our bones, including whether activities such as running can worsen a person’s osteoarthritis.
Contrary to popular belief, running does not worsen the degenerative nature of osteoarthritis. Actually, recent studies have shown that mild to moderate running can help alleviate osteoarthritic symptoms and improve the quality of life for people with osteoarthritis. One of the primary contributors to arthritic symptoms is excessive body weight.
A higher body weight puts more stress on the knee joint, which results in worsened arthritic symptoms. Running not only helps individuals lose weight, which can help relieve symptoms, but also mild to moderate activity has been found to increase strength and flexibility, reduce joint pain, and help combat fatigue in those suffering from osteoarthritis.
Sports Medicine Weekly is brought to you by the following sponsors:
- Rush Physical Therapy
- JRF Ortho
- Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush
- Vericel Corporation
- Karen Malkin Health Consulting
- Pulsar Scientific
- Medwest Associates
- Sideline Sports Doc
Click here for full podcast playlist.
