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Patients
suffering from knee osteoarthritis need to exercise to maintain
their muscle strength despite the pain exercise may cause,
according to researchers at the Netherlands Institute of Health
Services Research Center in Utrecht.
Maintenance
of muscle strength plays a key role in helping knee osteoarthritis
patients cope with their condition, said the report published
in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.
"Avoidance
of activity is hypothesized to lead to muscle weakness and
consequently, to physical disability," wrote the researchers.
"This study was undertaken to validate the avoidance
model by providing evidence for the mediating role of muscle
weakness in the relationship between avoidance of activity
and physical disability in patients with osteoarthritis of
the knee."
The study
of 107 patients (average age 68.7) confirmed the association
between lack of activity and progressive physical deterioration
in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.
The muscle
strength and level of disability of the patients was measured
with a series of exercises. Patients were asked about their
avoidance of exercise, ranging from taking frequent breaks
to ceasing exercise completely.
Most of
the patients in the study tended to avoid physical activity
due to their fear of pain or an actual increase in pain. Although
avoiding exercise reduced pain for a short time, the physical
condition of the patient then deteriorated, with muscle weakness
leading to joint weakness and a reduction of mobility and
muscle strength. The muscle weakness and reduction in mobility
then caused more avoidance of exercise.
"The
results of this study provide evidence for the mediating role
of muscle weakness in the relationship between avoidance of
activity and disability in patients with knee osteoarthritis,"
concluded the researchers.
Source:
Arthritis Week
of July 21, 2002
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