Arthritis prevention measures

By reducing extra load on joints, avoiding irreversible cartilage wear, and intervening in high-risk factors in advance, most non-traumatic and degenerative arthritis can be effectively prevented and controlled.

Last week, I met a 32-year-old programmer at the orthopedic cooperative clinic. He is 1.75 meters tall and weighs almost 190 pounds. He said that his knees have been in pain after just two steps after get off work. He squatted down to pick something up and couldn't stand up for a long time. After taking an MRI, it was found that the cartilage of the patella joint had early roughening and degeneration. The attending doctor told him that for every 1 pound you gain, your knees will bear 3 pounds more pressure when walking. If you climb stairs or squat, this number will increase to 6-7 times, which is equivalent to squatting for 20 minutes every time you go to the toilet. You are carrying three or four 10-pound bags of rice to press on your knees.

Speaking of this, someone must ask, can I offset the wear and tear by supplementing some aminoglycosides and chondroitin? To be honest, the academic community has not yet reached a unified conclusion on this issue. The American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons’ guidelines clearly do not recommend routine supplementation of aminoglycosides for healthy people, believing that the evidence-based evidence for its preventive effect is insufficient. ； However, many domestic orthopedic clinical studies of middle-aged and elderly people have shown that for people over 45 years old who have occasionally experienced joint snapping and slight soreness when going up and down stairs, supplementing 800-1500 mg of low-dose aminoglucose every day for 3 months can indeed relieve discomfort and delay the rate of degeneration. But don’t treat it as a miracle drug. I have seen many young men squatting in the gym every day and squatting with heavy weights, taking aminoglycosides as daily supplements, and still suffering from patellar chondromalacia in their twenties.

In fact, there is a lot of debate on the Internet about whether "walking nourishes the joints" or "walking hurts the joints." In essence, I have not found the right rhythm for myself. A retired aunt came here for consultation before. She said that she read a health post and walked 20,000 steps a day. After walking for half a month, her knees were swollen like steamed buns. She was found to have synovitis. ； But I know a marathon enthusiast who is 57 years old and runs half marathons three times a week without any joint problems. The core difference lies in the strength of the muscles around the joints. The muscles are like the "stability belts" of the joints. If you sit for a long time, your thigh muscles will be as soft as cotton. The joints will dangle around and wear out if you walk too much. ； If there is enough muscle mass to firmly fix the joints in the correct position, there will still be enough buffer space even if the amount of exercise is high. In the circle of rehabilitation practitioners around me, everyone agrees that the most cost-effective joint-protecting exercise is to squat silently. There is no need to run or jump. The back is against the wall and the knees are not higher than the toes. Squat until the thighs are slightly sore and get up. Practice for 10 minutes every day. It is much more effective than spending thousands of dollars on supplements.

There are also some small details that you don’t notice at all, but they are secretly wearing down your joints. For example, many young people like to squat in the toilet to check their mobile phones. They squat for more than 20 minutes. The flexion angle of the knee joint reaches the maximum, and the pressure is several times that of standing. ； There are also girls who like to wear high heels. I once treated a 28-year-old female teacher who wore high heels of more than 7 cm for 10 years. The degree of degeneration of her ankle and knee joints was worse than that of a 50-year-old ordinary person. Oh, by the way, some people say that "arthritis is caused by freezing." This is true or not. Cold itself will not directly cause cartilage degeneration, but for people who already have early wear and tear, the cold will slow down local blood circulation and prevent inflammatory metabolites from being discharged, making the pain worse. So in autumn and winter, don't expose your ankles or wear ripped pants to expose your knees. Wearing thin knee pads is really not an IQ tax.

Many people's attitude towards joint problems is to "carry it as long as the pain is not severe", which is actually the biggest disadvantage. Early cartilage wear and mild synovitis can be completely reversed as long as you adjust your habits and do some rehabilitation training. If you wait until the cartilage wears out and the bones begin to proliferate, you can only take medicine to relieve it. In severe cases, you will need to have a joint replacement, which will cost you money. If you have a tingling sensation in your knees recently when you squat, or your joints hurt when you go up or down stairs, or you feel sore when you snap, don't hesitate to get an MRI. Early detection and early intervention are better than anything else.

In fact, after all, arthritis prevention is really not something that requires you to spend a lot of money or a lot of effort. It is just to pay more attention to it and don't make it too hard. After all, replacing these parts on your body is not as smooth as the original one, right?