Pump, Don’t Panic: Osteoarthritis, Exercise, and the Fallacy of ‘Bone-On-Bone’
Picture it: A leisure morning marathon pounding down a scenic trail, running shoes hitting the dirt, endorphins hitting high notes. An exercise-loving woman’s paradise, right? Until the knee protests with a twang of pain, a harbinger of a dreaded phrase from the doctor’s lips – ‘bone-on-bone’ Osteoarthritis (OA). But, hang on, don’t retire those running shoes just yet! Keep your water bottle handy and your sweatband snug, because it’s no time to throw the towel; it may be time to toss out misconceptions about OA instead.
‘Bone-On-Bone’ – The Sound of Discouragement
Pam, just like countless exercise buffs, received the dreaded ‘bone-on-bone’ diagnosis and lost her stride, succumbing to a sedentary lifestyle. Her surgeon failed to grasp the bigger picture – the deceptive correlation of OA and physical activity. OA isn’t some hateful monster lurking in your worn-out knee waiting to devour every shred of cartilage it can find. It’s more akin to a misunderstood beast, desperately needing a second glance through the spectacles of metabolic health.
The Real Culprits – Metabolic Health and Inflammation
Below the smooth surface of OA lies a labyrinth of biological complexities, a matrix revealing metabolic health’s crucial role. OA isn’t your joints throwing a ‘mechanical failure’ tantrum; it’s an intricate biological tango between the metabolic system and cartilage repair mechanisms. Inflammatory mediators produced by metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes dance clumsily on the dance floor of health, often stepping on the toes of the cartilage – the belle of the ball. Before you know it, the dance floor is a scene of chaos, with OA as the unruly party-crasher.
Cartilage – Not Just a Punching Bag
Cartilage isn’t some helpless victim in the boxing ring of life, getting pummelled by every passing punch of strenuous activity. It’s a resilient contender, standing up after every knockdown, an avatar of constant breakdown and repair. Only when your metabolic health is the unsporting coach in its corner, match after match, does its fight start to falter. Our joint fluid, governed by the circulating blood’s nutrients and potentially toxic inflammatory mediators, coaches the cartilage on repair, resilience and health. As long as the metabolic health is in check, the cartilage doesn’t easily throw in the towel!
Exercise – Not the Villain, but the Hero!
If OA isn’t a result of your running routine causing road wear, but the biological interplay of cartilage repair mechanisms and the pesky inflammation, it puts physical activity in a new light. Contrary to the bone-on-bone horror story that shooed Pam to the couch, exercise is the unsung superhero swooping in to save the day! Or better, the metabolic health! Physical activity has a punchy list of health benefits ranging from improving metabolic health, reducing inflammation, ensuring a steady supply of nutrients to the cartilage, aiding waste removal, to stimulating repair processes. It’s truly the hero your joints need and deserve. Set the capes flying, get your heart rates climbing!
Physician’s Role – Guardians of the Metabolic Galaxy
Patient education, like our core muscles squat after squat, needs considerable strength and conditioning. Words can have lasting impact and actions, long-lasting implications, and Nasty phrases like ‘bone-on-bone arthritis’ can lead a patient to a fear-bound, sedentary life, stripping them of the much needed defence against the villainous metabolic diseases. As esteemed guardians, healthcare providers have the responsibility to guide the patients through the labyrinth of health, shedding enlightenment on the biological nature of OA, metabolic health, and importance of regular exercise.
In conclusion:
- Osteoarthritis (OA) isn’t some consequence of wear and tear due to physical activity but is more related to biological and metabolic health.
- ‘Bone-on-bone’ can sound terrifying but it’s not the green signal for sedentariness which is detrimental for metabolic health and in turn OA.
- Inflammatory processes linked to metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes play a crucial role in cartilage degradation in OA.
- Cartilage undergoes constant breakdown and repair and only fails when metabolic health is compromised.
- Exercise doesn’t worsen OA, but instead improves metabolic health and reduces inflammation aiding cartilage health.
- Healthcare providers must focus on educating patients about the importance of physical activity in managing OA, while debunking the misconceptions related to strenuous activity and OA.
Source Citation: https://www.howardluksmd.com/bone-on-bone-why-messaging-should-be-informative-and-not-harmful/
