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We talk to Prof. dr hab. n. med. Tomasz Targowski Head of the Geriatrics Clinic of the National Geriatrics, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Institute Prof. Dr hab. Eleonora Reicher in Warsaw.
Ailments related to joints and their mobility are quite common. What are their main causes?
Prof. Tomasz Targowski: Joint pain can be divided into those that are inflammatory in the course of systemic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis, and those resulting from acute or chronic mechanical damage. In the elderly, the most common cause of joint pain is degenerative disease. In most cases, this disease affects the joints that are exposed to the greatest stress during everyday life and functioning, i.e. the spine, knee and hip joints. It is estimated that osteoarthritis affects more than 50 percent. people over 40 years of age, and in 10-20 percent. of them lead to a significant reduction in efficiency.
Which joints are most affected by this problem?
Osteoarthritis can affect all joints, however, the most vulnerable to its occurrence are the joints that are the most stressed during everyday life and functioning, such as the spine joints, knee joints or hip joints.
At what age do we start to experience joint ailments? What is it related to?
Symptoms of degenerative disease most often appear between the ages of 40 and 60. This is due to the fact that the essence of the disease is chronic, progressive damage to the articular cartilage. This process is slow and spread over time. Initially occurring microdamages do not cause ailments. Only their accumulation, which results in significant damage to the articular cartilage, leads to pain and limitation of mobility in the affected joints. Obviously, in people with significant risk factors for degenerative disease (i.e. obese or unskillfully, without proper preparation, physical activity), the likelihood of symptoms at a younger age increases significantly.
Why is it so important to maintain the efficiency of the articular cartilage?
Articular cartilage wear is a natural process that can progress faster as a result of repeated overloads or microtraumas. Hence, joint problems more often affect people who are overweight or obese and people who practice sports professionally. In osteoarthritis, the articular cartilage undergoes a gradual, progressive degeneration. This contributes to the abrasion of the articular surfaces. As a result, it causes pain in the joints affected by the disease. Pain can radiate to the surrounding tissues or adjacent joints. For example, in osteoarthritis of the hip, a common symptom is pain in the area of the knee joints.
What about the lifestyle, it has a significant impact on our health, how can we help ourselves by thinking about the joints?
One of the main risk factors for osteoarthritis is being overweight or obese. By overloading the skeleton, including the hip and knee joints, excess weight leads to accelerated damage to the articular cartilage as a result of its overload. Thus, people who want to take care of healthy joints should follow the broad principles of healthy eating and undertake regular, moderate physical activity, i.e. 20-30 minutes of general development physical exercise (preceded by a warm-up), 5-7 times a week. This will help to take care not only of healthy joints, but also significantly contribute to the improvement of the general psychophysical condition and reduce the risk of serious civilization diseases such as type 2 diabetes or arterial hypertension. Proper supplementation is also important for the improvement of the functioning of our joints.
It is worth choosing the one containing natural ingredients. In addition, an important issue is work ergonomics and proper preparation, both theoretical and practical, for sports activities undertaken as part of a hobby. Inadequate preparation for such activity (e.g. through the wrong choice of cross-country shoes, ignorance of the correct technique of downhill skiing or incorrect use of Nordic Walking poles popular among the elderly) may lead to repeated excessive joint overload and sometimes even serious injuries, including sprains and fractures. Therefore, before starting the chosen physical activity, it is reasonable to seek the advice of the instructor, and in the case of an existing joint disease, a specialist in the field of rehabilitation or traumatology.
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