Many people have knee
osteoarthritis in one knee or both. That does not
make it any easier on its
sufferers though. Vancouver Disc Centers has some novel exercise tips and
treatments our Vancouver knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients will want
to try for themselves.
KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS (KOA): What It Is and How Common It Is
Knee osteoarthritis is aging-related
and everywhere! 86 million people around the world
over 20 years old were diagnosed with it in 2020. Typically,
knee osteoarthritis sufferers feel a loss of knee
extensor strength, a greater severity of knee pain,
and a drop in functional performance. (1) Knee
osteoarthritis is the degeneration of cartilage, part of the natural aging
process whether we like it or not. Physical activity has demonstrated a
positive effect on cartilage structure despite
not yet knowing which exercise is best. (2) Vancouver Disc Centers sees
new treatment ideas being published all the time.
KOA TREATMENT: Your
Vancouver chiropractor has it.
A chiropractic treatment approach has demonstrated
potential. A trial of Cox® flexion distraction decompression
principled treatment for knee osteoarthritis – namely distraction
of the knee – resulted in relief of patient-perceived pain from
7.7 (out of 10) to 1.8 in a mean of 5.3 visits in 3 weeks for 25 patients. (3) Vancouver Disc Centers
can partner this treatment (and even some cartilage-supportive
nutrition!) with your home-exercise for relief.
KOA TREATMENT: YOU, our Vancouver knee pain patient
Even though the benefits of exercise abound for KOA is well established, KOA
sufferers do not very well stick to the exercise practice. One study set
up an easy-to-follow video set and automated recording calendar
of when they did each video that showed an
82.4% participation rate. Not bad! The patients also shared their
noticed satisfaction, pain reduction, and better
physical function. (4) One month-long intervention of unilateral, non-KOA knee extensor strength training resulted
in significant improvement in the knee extensor strength of the knee with
KOA! This is called “cross education phenomenon.” The improved
extensor strength and neuromuscular function of the knee with KOA maintained
itself for 3 months. (1) Vancouver Disc Centers knows
a KOA sufferer won’t care which knee is exercised as long as relief
is forthcoming! A planned YOGA (YOGa and
strengthening exercise for knee osteoArthritis) study was recently described
to see how yoga’s mind-body exercise format - recognized as enhancing flexibility, muscle
strength, balance and fitness - might decrease the symptoms of knee
osteoarthritis and even improve other outcomes like pain,
function, quality of life, gait speed, cost effectiveness, and others. (5) Another
study looked into how blood flow restriction with low
and high load resistance exercise of the KOA-affected knee modified
various blood tests in female patients with unilateral KOA
and found that markers for skeletal muscle tissues were increased.
(6) All these studies on a multitude of approaches
to manage knee osteoarthritis may hopefully unearth a
way to ease/prevent/better manage this common ailment.
CONTACT Vancouver Disc Centers
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Luigi Albano on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr.
Michael Johnson as he describes relieving
chiropractic knee treatment via The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain
Management for patients with KOA.
Schedule your Vancouver chiropractic
appointment soon. Do you experience
knee osteoarthritis? Come in for
a visit!