If you talk to anyone in their ‘upper years’, (I won’t give any specific numbers to preserve everyone’s dignity 😉) you’ll hear that the first half an hour in the morning is stiff, restricted, and painful. They have some arthritis even though they “_____”. You could fill in that blank space with anything from, “were an extreme sports enthusiast” to, “had a desk job their whole life”. This article will break down why osteoarthritis shows no favouritism when it comes to joint degeneration. 

People who are experiencing osteoarthritis often say that the first few minutes of the day is stiff and restricted movement until they “warm up”. The warm up is not just to stretch the muscles, but to get the synovial fluid acting as a lubricant for your joints. The double edged sword is that osteoarthritis can be more prevalent in those who have too much movement as well as those who have too little movement. 

When someone is active and moving through the day, the body feels less stiff and easy to move. This is because the fluid in our joints is meant to move with us. Synovial fluid is a thick gel-like fluid that is found in most joints of the body. It provides protection from impacts and reduced friction in joint movement. Its other important function is transporting nutrition to the cartilage and ligaments. This is because our cartilage and ligaments generally have less blood supply which is the normal way to transport nutrition through the body. For this reason, when injuries occur to cartilage and ligaments, it takes longer to heal than other blood-rich tissues. 

Those who have an overly active lifestyle:

Those who move a lot can have high forces that cause early wear on joint tissues. High impact examples could be people that play tackle sports like football or rugby. It could also include other sports or activities that have lots of repetitive forces or heavy landings such as: BMX jumps, marathon runners, or parachuters.

Those who have a sedentary lifestyle:

Those who move too little don’t get the nutrients to the cartilage that is needed and thus break down faster. The most obvious example is anyone who has a desk job with long hours. It can also include sedentary hobbies such as gaming, quilting, or even reading (sorry learners). 

Finding the sweet spot in movement is the best way to prevent early degeneration. If you already have a degree of osteoarthritis, there are ways to slow it and help it. Exercise is one of the best ways as it strengthens the muscles surrounding the joint that is affected. Even if it’s lifting small weights for more of an endurance exercise, studies show a significant change in range of motion and pain levels for people who exercise while having a diagnosis of OA.

Move well, wear well,

Dr. Cole Maranger