Every year in the U.S., nearly 500,000 patients have one or more hips or knees replaced. Although the human body is resilient, our joints are actually quite fragile…
When cartilage, our bone’s natural cushioning, wears away, it doesn’t grow back. Decreasing cartilage contributes to osteoarthritis, or degenerative arthritis, which is a painful and often life altering condition.
Pain and inflammation from arthritic joints can be so severe that a mechanical substitute is required to maintain quality of life. Unfortunately, replacement can lead to more pain initially, as well as costly medical bills. Your best bet is to protect your joints now rather than deal with the consequences later.
The cost for a new hip or knee is $30,000 to $60,000 dollars and up. If you have insurance, your total out-of-pocket costs are generally anywhere from $3,000 to $4,000 dollars. This doesn’t include the value of your personal time and missed work days. The total national bill for hip replacements in 2007 was $19 billion, and $26 billion for knees, according to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Those figures are expected to rise significantly in the coming decade.
Why are painful joints such a growing national problem? The baby boomer population is aging, obesity is on the rise, and more and more children and adolescents are taking sports very seriously at a younger age. All of these create the perfect storm for the proliferation of osteoarthritis.
According to the Arthritis Foundation, arthritis is now affecting people in their 30’s and 40’s, which is much earlier than usual. Normally, painful arthritis would crop up more toward the late 40’s and 50’s. However, with proper care and maintenance, your joints can hold up over the years.
TIPS FOR SAVING YOUR JOINTS
Watch Your Weight
Studies show that 27% of hip replacements and almost 70% of knee replacements may be due to obesity. The more you weigh, the more pressure you’re putting on your joints and that pressure can be the gateway to joint damage. Walking alone forces each knee to bear a force of about 3 to 6 times your body weight. According to doctors at Boston University School of Medicine, weight related joint problems are even more of a risk for women than men, though the reasons for this are still unclear.
According to Dr. Felson, a rheumatologist and arthritis prevention specialist at Boston University School of Medicine, “A woman’s risk for developing osteoarthritis is linearly related to her weight.” However, “men who are moderately overweight are not as at high a risk as a woman of the same weight,” says Felson. The good news is that Dr. Felson co-authored a study that found that when women lost 10 pounds, their risk of osteoarthritis of the knees dropped by half.
Play, But Keep it Low Impact
Most people will be surprised to learn that there is no definitive link between osteoarthritis of the knee and sports, such as running. However, many orthopedic and sports medicine doctors discourage patients from running on hard pavement, playing tennis on concrete, and other high-impact activities, such as skiing. If you enjoy running, try to do it on a track or treadmill and consider swapping a run for something low-impact like swimming, biking, lifting weights or tai chi.
“Impact sports put too much stress on the joints, particularly the knees,” said Dr. Donald M. Kastenbaum, vice chairman of orthopedic surgery at Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan. “These activities may lead to osteoarthritis. and they definitely can escalate the progression of the condition.”
Don’t be a Risk Taker
Certain sports and activities pose more of an injury risk than others, such as high-impact activities vs. low-impact activities. Major injuries that require surgical intervention greatly increase your risk for developing osteoarthritis. Anywhere from 10 to 20 years after a person injures the anterior cruciate ligament or menisci of the knee, they have a 50% chance of developing arthritis of the knee. These chances go up even more if the injury occurs in their 30’s or 40’s.
Get and Stay Fit
The bottom line is that the stronger your muscles are, the less likely you are to injure yourself. Regularly stretching your muscles and improving your flexibility can stave off joint problems.
“Building muscles around joints acts like a shock absorber, spreading stress across the joint,” said Dr. Laith M. Jazrawi, chief of the sports medicine division at NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases.
Be Skeptical of the Quick Fix
According to specialists, you should think twice before spending money on specialized nutrients for improving joint health. Popular supplements, such as shark cartilage, glucosamine, and chondroitin, which are all marketed as joint fixers, can be expensive and may only be of limited benefit. While some evidence suggests glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate may be helpful with osteoarthritis once it has started, overall the results are inconclusive. There is also no evidence to suggest that shark cartilage has any benefit for treating osteoarthritis or its symptoms.
Good luck to all our readers!