One of the good things about research is new information is being found to give hope for change in conditions that were in the past thought of as age related wear and tear and no hope for repair.
New Evidence
Some new evidence based ways to look at knee osteoarthritis (OA) include:
- It is not just a cartilage problem, it involves processes in the knee and the whole body
- OA is a mild whole body inflammatory process that can show up in any joint including the knee, not simply mechanical wear and tear
- Many factors can contribute to OA including things going on in your knee, your gut, your thoughts and your life, it is not simply caused by age, injury or overuse
The old view that the future of OA can’t be changed has now been challenged by this new research, offering hope for those with the condition.
What can you do?
There are many things you can do to slow its progress, such as increasing your activity, but make sure you follow the Goldilocks principle, not too much, not too little, it needs to be just the right type and length.
If you notice increased pain, stiffness or swelling after activity it will be your body’s safety buffer kicking in to protect you, not necessarily tissue damage. This is where increased knowledge around OA and how the body tries to protect us by pain hypersensitivity can help enhance understanding and enable development of useful strategies.
The other really helpful thing to do is make some life style changes to lower inflammation, this includes ensuring you have a good diet, adequate sleep and stress release such as meditation, mindfulness or yoga, or being part of a group you enjoy or any other stress release you find helpful.
Activity
Increasing physical activity can:
- Make you stronger, fitter and more agile
- Refresh and renew your representation of the knee in your brain
- Improve your confidence, mood and your learning
- Reduce inflammation and help you lose weight, improve your gut microbiome
- Help improve your knowledge and inflammation
Knowledge
Increasing knowledge can:
- Enhance your problem solving, goal setting and planning
- Allow you to pick the ideal activities for yourself
- Reduce your bodies stress response
- Help you sort out good from bad advice
- Empower you to help others with OA
- Help improve your inflammation and activity
Inflammation
Decreasing inflammation can:
- Help you move better
- Help you think more clearly and enhance your memory
- Help you lose weight
- Make your knee and body structures healthier
- Enhance your body’s ability to change and adapt
- Help improve your knowledge and activity
The Body is Bioplastic
It is very promising to be reminded that the body is bioplastic, meaning it is capable of repair, so don’t think wear and tear, instead replace that with wear and repair. If you have been told your knee is bone on bone then consider if it can still move there will be some cartilage intact and synovial fluid found in all moveable joints is very lubricating.
Bowen Therapy
Bowen Therapy is highly recommended as a treatment option to assist the body’s repair as it is gentle but very effective, helps release tissue tightness, enhances blood flow, increases relaxation, lowers inflammation, helps the gut function more effectively, and improves lymphatic drainage. Take heart and take control, there are many things you can do that will make a difference, we look forward to working with you if you choose to come in for a treatment. https://www.bordernaturaltherapies.com.au/services/bowen-therapy/
Information for this blog came from a webinar OSTEOARTHRITIS IS A JOINT DISEASE, RIGHT? MYTHS, MODERN VIEWS & MAKING BETTER TREATMENTS with experts Lorimer Moseley, PhD, FACP and Tasha Stanton, BScPT, MSc, PhD
https://www.optp.com/webinar-series-replay