Osteoarthritis in the knee

[bustr]

Has anyone had any luck treating this with exercise? What kind?

[Interloper]

I've had it in my right knee for years. There aren't any exercises for joints, specifically, or for arthritis, which is an autoimmune condition that causes inflammation of the joints. However, I've found that the spine-hip-leg-ground alignment that is part and parcel to IMA internal structural skills training, has been extremely helpful in preventing undue stress in my knee joints.

In addition to that, anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin help. When my arthritis flares up, I use enteric, time-release aspirin and stay off the leg as much as possible -- and I focus on internal alignments when I do have to stand and walk.

[gretel]

makes a lot of sense, interloper. i've been having quite a bit of arthritis in my knees, and paying a lot of attention to keeping my knees aligned with my ankles and hips helps quite a bit. i've avoided the anti-inflammatory drugs because of their possible impact on the stomach, but maybe i should rethink that. it does flair up and then get better too, doesn't it. it's important to keep moving but it's also important to back off exercise and practice when the pain flairs up. hard to find the right balance.

also, i need to come to terms with getting older.

gretel

[Darth Rock&Roll]

aging will kill us all!!

ahhhhhh *runs with arms flailing*

[Brady]

I've had it in my right knee for years. There aren't any exercises for joints, specifically, or for arthritis, which is an autoimmune condition that causes inflammation of the joints. However, I've found that the spine-hip-leg-ground alignment that is part and parcel to IMA internal structural skills training, has been extremely helpful in preventing undue stress in my knee joints.

Osteoarthritis isn't autoimmune. Maybe you are confusing it with rheumatoid arthritis? But yeah, you are right that it is usually a symptom of alignment issues, so IMA is extraordinarily helpful.

[I-mon]

Yeah sounds like Interloper's talking about rheumatoid rather than osteo-arthritis.

try lying on your back with knees bent and the soles of your feet flat on the floor. press through different parts of the foot to raise the pelvis off the ground and lower it. notice what happens in the hips when you press through the ball of the foot, the heel, the outside edge, the inside edge, the big toe, inside of the heel, outside of the heel, back of the heel, etc. see also if you can press evenly through the triangle made by the heel, ball of the big toe and ball of the little toe (activating the three arches - "medial arch" from heel to big toe, "lateral arch" heel to little toe, "transverse arch" ball of big to ball of little toe). pressing with one foot or both, never try to push through any knee pain. learn the connections between every part of the sole of the foot and the hip joint - the inner parts connect to the insides of the hips, heels to the back, outer edge to the outside of the hips, etc, so the circumference of the foot maps onto the circumference of the head of the femuer (the "ball" of the "ball and socket" joint of the hip), with the force transferring straight through the ankle, lower leg, knee, and thigh, then through the hip into the spine.

As long as you completely avoid any pain, this exercise will develop the soft tissues around the knee and re-pattern healthy and functional force transfer from foot to hip. Needs some sort of flexion movements, some hip-ankle rotational stuff, and some squatting work, to completely balance all of the possible forces through the legs, but it's a damn good start for fixing up your knees.

[Interloper]

Oops, my bad. No, I have osteoarthritis, but had the perhaps mistaken idea that arthritis in general is an autoimmune condition.

[Steve James]

the perhaps mistaken idea that arthritis in general is an autoimmune condition

Arthritis is an inflammation. In 'osteo', the inflammation is considered to be caused by "wear and/or tear": i.e., aging or injury. In "rheumatoid", the inflammation is not caused by wear and tear. It's considered auto-immune because there's no apparent reason for the body's inflammatory response. The specific symptoms can differ between rheumatoid and osteo arthritis, and they can differ from person to person. That's often one way that a doctor can tell. There are over a hundred types of arthritises. Some people believe that most forms of arthritis are the result of wear and tear (or aging). However, some argue that autoimmune issues (caused by genetics or diet) are always a factor --since not everyone develops arthritis.

One counter to the wear and tear argument is that exercise (i.e., more use) is almost always recommended for any arthritic condition. The amount and type of exercise will differ, but usage seems to be a cure, not a cause of arthritis. Okay, "proper exercise" versus exercising improperly seems to be a key. Anyway, all I can say in terms of treatment is 1) get a test to see if it's truly arthritis, not some type of neuropathy or condition. Rheumatoid arthritis can be painless, though physically debilitating. Pain can arise from non-arthritic conditions. If it's really osteo, then correct exercise is imperative to avoid further injury. If there's always pain, then there's either anti-inflammatories (nsaids or cortico-steroids) or surgery (depending on the body part affected), or replacement of the joint.

It's easy to advise someone with arthritis to exercise. Unfortunately, sometimes it's not possible because of the pain or lack of function. People with rheumatoid arthritis can be so disfigured that it's impossible to exercise, or even work. My father has it, and his hands are contorted to the point where they're almost useless. Rheumatoid can also have a congenital aspect and run in families. So, if it's in yours, it'd make sense to get tested for it, imo.

I would say that taijiquan would be good therapy for the knee ... but, in truth, if it hurts, it's probably not right. Frankly, imo, if you can walk, that's good exercise, too; and very practical. You can laugh ... until you can't do it .

[Brady]

Osteoarthritis is a label for a symptom of years of imperfect movement patterns and joint alignments, it is not a "disease" in the sense of an actual identifiable process of destruction in the body. If you have this, finding the aberrant movement patterns and ways of moving to absolve them is the recipe for success. Somatic awareness is the key to this.
Rheumatoid, or some of the other more exotic arthritis conditions, are harder to shake off. And ya, science has no great answers for how to fight these issues, but a good intuit bodyworker can do wonders.

[Interloper]

Thanks guys, very informative! Whatever it is, some days I can barely walk and other days it's like nothing is wrong at all. There really are no actual exercises to "fix" joints, only to strengthen muscles and thicken tendons that hold the joints in place. For the most part, I find that keeping focused on good skeletal alignment is the best "treatment" to lessen the aggravation to the painful joint!

[I-mon]

Remember that not only muscles, but also bones and nerves, are all constantly remodeling themselves. Much of what is considered incurable is only incurable because of lack of understanding (of how the body structure and nervous system remodel themselves in response to stimuli), lack of method (there are many effective methods), and/or inconsistency in or inability to practice (for whatever reason, laziness, poverty, time constraints etc).

The argument is not that arthritis, spinal deformities, etc, can definitely be cured in all cases, but that the condition of any joint, muscle, limb or whatever can always be progressively improved using the right techniques.

[Steve James]

the condition of any joint, muscle, limb or whatever can always be progressively improved using the right techniques

Well, some joints can degenerate to the point where "improvement" is purely relative to the original condition, which might be unnecessarily bad. I agree that improvement is possible at every stage. However, I think that we are (or should be) talking primarily in terms of preventing (further) injury. It is possible to get to the stage where even correct movement is injurious and/or painful.

Re: body changes. Ligaments can and often do ossify (which is a very good reason to exercise them). When they do, it is like a type of arthritis (due to aging), and it's one reason people seem to shrink and tighten up when they're older. This sort of change is not unnatural, though, especially when there are injuries. Btw, these are probably "micro-injuries" that accrue over time --but are, of course, accelerated by overuse. I do wonder about the "tai chi knee" problems that people seemed to be having. Cycler's knee, tennis elbow and even carpal wrist, I can understand.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

oxygenated free radicals cause a lot of damage to all systems in the human body.
exercise will not be an immediate solution, so you are gonna need some help through medication.
exercise over a period of time should show results in yoru overall health.
see a dietician as well. if you are over 40, all sorts of changes are occuring rapidly within you.
genes are turning on, turning off, a lot of breakdown in general is happening and it can be addressed to assure some quality of life
can be had.

If you are starting late in life on a program like this, you are also going to have to contend with all the hurdles taht are there as well.
If you desire instant results, medication.
If you want a more natural path, it will take time.

[qiphlow]

http://www.wheelessonline.com/ortho/osteoarthritis_of_the_knee

http://www.slideshare.net/drake0766/osteoarthritis-presentation

[Simon]

Hi i'm no expert but i often use info such as pain free by pete egoscue. I'm currently looking at hip exercises for prevention.