Scores of people have knee
osteoarthritis in both or one knee. That doesn’t
cause sufferers to feel any better about it. Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre has some new exercise tips and
treatments our Toronto knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients will want
to attempt.
KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS (KOA): What It Is and How Common It Is
Knee osteoarthritis is related to aging
and everywhere! 86 million people globally
over the age of 20 were diagnosed with it in 2020. Characteristically,
knee osteoarthritis sufferers feel a loss of knee
extensor strength, a greater severity of knee pain,
and a decline 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 been shown to positively affect cartilage structure despite
not yet knowing which exercise is best. (2) Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre sees
new treatment ideas being published all the time.
KOA TREATMENT: Your
Toronto chiropractor has it.
A chiropractic treatment approach has demonstrated
promise. A trial of treatment based on principles of Cox®
flexion distraction decompression for knee osteoarthritis – that is 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) Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre
can partner this treatment (and even some cartilage-supportive
nutrition!) with your home-exercise for relief.
KOA TREATMENT: YOU, our Toronto knee pain patient
Despite
the benefits of exercise on KOA is well established, KOA
sufferers do not very well continue the exercise routine. One study set
up an easy-to-follow video series and automated recording calendar
of when they did each video that resulted in an
82.4% participation rate. Not bad! The patients also reported satisfaction, pain reduction, and better
physical function. (4) One 4-week intervention of single
knee, 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 better
extensor strength and neuromuscular function of the knee with KOA maintained
itself for 3 months. (1) Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre knows
a KOA sufferer will not care which knee is exercised as long as there is relief! A proposed YOGA (YOGa and
strengthening exercise for knee osteoArthritis) study was recently described
to see how yoga’s mind-body exercise format - known to improve 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 studied 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 various approaches
to handle knee osteoarthritis may hopefully find a
way to ease/prevent/better manage this common condition.
CONTACT Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Luigi Albano on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr.
Michael Johnson as he illustrates beneficial
chiropractic knee treatment via The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain
Management for patients with KOA.
Make your Toronto chiropractic
appointment soon. Do you have
knee osteoarthritis? Come in for
a visit!