What are the prevention methods for arthritis?

The core of currently recognized and effective arthritis prevention is to reduce abnormal wear and tear on joints, improve support around joints, and avoid the risk of injury. There is no "miracle medicine" or "special action" spread online that can prevent arthritis once and for all.

I have been working in sports rehabilitation for 6 years, and I have seen too many young people in their 20s who have symptoms of early degenerative arthritis. The one who impressed me most was a girl who was keen on horse racing. She used to run long distances of more than 10 kilometers every day in order to prepare for races, and she didn't take her running form seriously. When I was less than 28 years old, my patellofemoral joints started to wear out, causing pain when going up and down stairs. Later I stopped high-intensity running, practiced hip, leg and core strength three times a week, and adjusted my landing posture. After half a year, the discomfort basically disappeared, and now I occasionally run 5 kilometers without recurrence.

Many people have misunderstandings about joint care. They either think that they should "spare use" and try not to move as much as possible, or they think that "the more they wear, the stronger they will be". In fact, both of these are extremes. The joints are like the bearings of a bicycle. With normal use, regular oiling, and no overload, there will be no problem for fifty or sixty years of use. If they are left to rust all year round, or if they haul several times more heavy goods every day, they will definitely wear out within two years. The nutrition of articular cartilage depends entirely on the squeeze supply of synovial fluid. For people who are completely immobile, the synovial fluid cannot circulate normally, and the cartilage cannot be nourished, so the degeneration rate will be faster than that of people who are active. You can see that for the elderly who have been bedridden all year round, their joints will become too stiff to bend within a month or two. This is the reason. However, if the intensity of exercise exceeds the load that the joints can bear, the cartilage will be worn out and cannot keep up with the speed of repair, and problems will naturally occur.

Nowadays, the most controversial question on the Internet is "Can you climb stairs and climb mountains?" In fact, there is no standard answer at all. Ordinary people with no old joint injuries and normal weight can climb the fifth or sixth floor or climb a low-difficulty mountain 1-2 times a week. It will not hurt the joints at all, but is a good aerobic exercise. However, if you already have knee pain symptoms and a BMI of more than 28, you must try to avoid such movements that require repeated weight-bearing, flexion and extension of the knee joint, otherwise it will only increase wear and tear.

When it comes to weight, let me say a few words. Many people have not calculated this: for every 1 kilogram you weigh, your knee joints have to carry an additional 3-4 kilograms of weight when walking. If you run and jump, the weight can be doubled to 6 times. Controlling weight is a cliché, and it is indeed the most intuitive way to reduce the burden on joints. There was a patient who weighed 200 pounds before. He accidentally sprained his knee when he went downstairs and tore his meniscus. He later lost 30 pounds and even the soreness and swelling in his knees from standing for a long time was gone.

There are also many people asking whether eating ammonia sugar and drinking bone broth can prevent arthritis. At present, there is no unified conclusion in the academic circle that proves that regular supplementation of ammonia sugar for healthy people can prevent arthritis. Only people who have mild to moderate cartilage wear and tear may have a certain relief effect by following the doctor's advice. As for bone soup, it is basically fat and purine, and the effect of calcium supplementation on cartilage is minimal. Drinking too much may lead to high uric acid, which is not worth the loss.

As for what the elders often say, "Arthritis caused by cold due to lack of clothing", there is actually no scientific basis. Low temperature itself will not directly induce arthritis. However, for people with inflammation, their blood vessels will shrink after being cold, and metabolic waste cannot be discharged, which will aggravate the pain. Therefore, people whose joints are prone to cold in autumn and winter wear knee pads and pay attention to keeping warm. However, there is no need to wear thick long johns on a day of more than 20 degrees in order to "prevent arthritis".

All said and done, there really isn’t a complicated way to prevent arthritis. Don’t sit for more than an hour. Get up and move for two minutes to shake your knees. Warm up for 10 minutes before exercising. Don’t suddenly engage in high-intensity weight-bearing exercises. Don’t be overweight. If joint pain and frequent snapping occur for more than two weeks, don’t carry it hard and don’t search for folk remedies. See an orthopedic or rehabilitation doctor first. Everything works.