Arthritis prevention brochure

[Key conclusions first] Arthritis is completely preventable. The most effective prevention core is the 12-word key of "controlling weight, reducing wear and tear, adjusting habits, and early intervention." You don't have to wait until retirement to start paying attention. Adhering to correct joint protection habits from the age of 20 can reduce the risk of osteoarthritis in middle-aged and elderly people by more than 60%.

I just met a 28-year-old Internet operation girl at the clinic last week. In order to catch up with the KPI of wearing small skirts in the summer, she climbed to the 22nd floor every day without taking the elevator for three months. Last week, when she squatted down to tie her shoes, her knees "clicked" so painfully that she couldn't stand up. After taking an MRI, it was discovered that she had patellofemoral arthritis, and a small piece of cartilage had been worn away. Many people always think that "arthritis is a disease only suffered by old men and old ladies." This is not true. Now the proportion of young patients under the age of 30 has reached almost 20%, and most of them are made by fooling around.

What everyone is most concerned about is "does exercise hurt the joints?" There is currently no unified conclusion in the orthopedic community: Conservatives in traditional orthopedics recommend that ordinary people try to do as little as possible such as climbing stairs, squatting, mountain climbing and other weight-bearing exercises that bend the knees more than 90 degrees. After all, the pressure on the knee joint can reach 3-7 times of body weight in such movements. People without training foundation can easily wear out the cartilage.； However, most sports medicine doctors believe that as long as the movements are standard and the muscles around the joints are strong enough, this type of exercise can strengthen the toughness of ligaments and cartilage and protect the joints. Let me give you the most practical judgment standard: If your legs start shaking after squatting quietly for 15 seconds, then don’t follow the trend of climbing stairs to lose weight. First, squat against the wall for 10 minutes every day to practice quadriceps. Once the muscles are strong, they can support the joints and reduce wear and tear.

Oh, by the way, don’t think that only exercise hurts your joints. If you sit in the office with your legs crossed every day, you are actually wearing out your joints secretly. I have an old patient who works as an accountant. He has had his legs crossed at work for 20 years. When he was 52 years old, he suffered from hip arthritis that made him unable to walk. In the end, he had a hip replacement. When you cross your legs, the forces on your hip and knee joints are distorted. If you cross your legs for two hours a day, the joints will wear out three times faster than normal people. I'm not scaring you.

People often ask whether they should take aminoglucose early to prevent it? Let me make this clear: the current academic consensus is that ammonia sugar is only useful for middle-aged and elderly people who have mild cartilage wear and mild pain symptoms. It can relieve pain and delay wear to a certain extent. However, for young people whose cartilage is still intact, eating it is basically a waste of money, and may also increase the metabolic burden on the liver and kidneys. Don’t believe what the health care product dealers say, "You should take ammonia sugar to protect joints when you are 20 years old." It is purely IQ tax.

Little girls who expose their ankles in winter should be careful. Last winter, I picked up six girls in their early 20s in one week. They all wore wide-leg pants that exposed their ankles and their knees were swollen from the cold. After a check, they all showed transient synovitis, which was so painful that it was difficult to even walk. When the joints get cold, the synovial membrane will shrink, and the inflammatory factors cannot be discharged and accumulate in the joint cavity. The pain is mild, but repeated cold exposure can really induce chronic arthritis. Don't talk about "foreigners showing their legs in winter". People's diets include a high proportion of red meat and dairy products, and their muscle content and bone density are already better than ours, so they can't be compared.

If your joints hurt for more than 3 days, or there is an obvious "clicking" sound when you move, you cannot squat down, or your joints are red and swollen, don't put on a plaster at home and come to the hospital early to take a X-ray. Mild wear and tear can be cured by physical therapy and topical anti-inflammatory drugs. If the cartilage is worn out, you can only have a joint replacement. Not to mention the cost of a set, it will take a long time to recover after the operation, which is not worth the loss.

Oh, by the way, sisters who like to wear high-heeled shoes should also note that for every 1cm in height of the heel, the stress on the knee joint increases by 15%. People who wear 5cm high-heeled shoes to work every day have a risk of arthritis that is three times higher than those who wear flat shoes. If you really need to wear them, keep a pair of soft-soled flat shoes in the office. Put them on when commuting and sitting for a long time, and you will avoid a lot of suffering.