Many people have knee
osteoarthritis in both or one knee. That does not
cause sufferers to feel any better about it. Minster Chiropractic Center has some new exercise tips and
treatments our Minster knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients will want
to try for themselves.
KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS (KOA): What It Is and How Common It Is
Knee osteoarthritis is related to aging
and everywhere! 86 million people around the world
over the age of 20 were diagnosed with it in 2020. Characteristically,
knee osteoarthritis sufferers have a loss of knee
extensor strength, a greater severity of knee pain,
and a decrease 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) Minster Chiropractic Center sees
new treatment ideas being published all the time.
KOA TREATMENT: Your
Minster chiropractor has it.
A chiropractic treatment approach has demonstrated
potential. A trial of treatment based on principles of Cox®
flexion distraction decompression for knee osteoarthritis – that is distraction
of the knee – reported 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) Minster Chiropractic Center
can partner this treatment (and even some cartilage-supporting
nutrition!) with your home-exercise for relief.
KOA TREATMENT: YOU, our Minster knee pain patient
Even though the benefits of exercise abound for KOA is well established, KOA
sufferers don’t usually stick to the exercise practice. One study set
up an easy-to-follow video series and automated recording calendar
of when they did each video that showed an
82.4% participation rate. Not bad! The patients also described satisfaction, pain reduction, and improved
physical function. (4) One month-long intervention of unilateral, non-KOA knee extensor strength training produced significant improvement in the knee extensor strength of the knee with
KOA! This is called “cross education phenomenon.” The enhanced
extensor strength and neuromuscular function of the knee with KOA maintained
itself for 3 months. (1) Minster Chiropractic Center knows
a KOA sufferer will not care which knee is exercised as long as relief
is forthcoming! A planned 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 enhance 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 single-knee KOA
and found that markers for skeletal muscle tissues were increased.
(6) All these studies on various approaches
to manage knee osteoarthritis may hopefully unearth a
way to ease/prevent/better manage this common condition.
CONTACT Minster Chiropractic Center
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Luigi Albano on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr.
Michael Johnson as he describes beneficial
chiropractic knee treatment via The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain
Management for patients with KOA.
Make your Minster chiropractic
appointment today. Are you ready for some knee pain relief? Come see us!