People are sometimes reluctant to start an exercise program for fear that they will wear out their knees and end up with osteoarthritis. A new study from North Carolina found that people over 45 years of age who exercise two and a half hours a week did not increase their likelihood of knee pain in the following 6 years. There were 1,500 individuals in the study, which found that exercise did not increase the likelihood of knee osteoarthritis, regardless of sex, race or body weight. The researchers suggest that everyone should aim to stay moderately active to reap the health benefits of exercise.
[Arthritis Care and Research, online, Aug. 27, 2013]
We interviewed one of the primary authors of this research on our radio show a few years ago. Joanne Jordan, MD, MPH, is the Herman and Louise Smith Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Director of the Thurston Arthritis Research Center at the University of North Carolina. We talked with her for an hour.
