Arthritis prevention and relief

There is no need to be superstitious about sky-high-priced amino sugars or imported physical therapy equipment. As long as ordinary people do three things: "control their weight within a reasonable range, avoid long-term repeated wear and tear on joints, and choose exercises that suit their own joint conditions," more than 90% of the risk of non-pathological arthritis can be prevented, and the discomfort of mild inflammation that has already occurred can be relieved by more than 70%.

To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to this matter before. Until last year, my mother’s knees hurt from square dancing and she had to hold on to the handrails when going up and down the stairs. First, she followed the trend and bought an infrared physical therapy device worth more than 3,000 yuan, and then asked someone to buy a bottle of imported ammonia sugar worth several hundred yuan. After two months, she still didn’t feel better. She asked me to see an old classmate from the orthopedics department. They didn’t even shoot the movie first. I asked first, “Has Auntie gained weight recently?” ”When I asked, I found out that my mother had gained 12 pounds in three months after performing square dancing every day with her sisters for supper. Her knees were already degenerative, so it didn’t hurt to carry an extra 12 pounds out of thin air. The plan she was given later was also simple: stop eating late at night, lose 7 or 8 pounds, stop squatting and kneeling during aerobics, and instead swim for half an hour every day. She also stopped taking aminoglycosides, saying that she was only mildly sore and eating them was in vain. As a result, it only took about two months. My mother no longer needs help going up and down stairs, and her knees no longer hurt.

Speaking of glucosamine, this is probably the most controversial thing related to arthritis. I have checked many guidelines. The 2019 guidelines of the European and American Orthopedic Association clearly stated that for patients with moderate to severe osteoarthritis who have already shown clear cartilage wear, supplementing glucosamine + chondroitin can indeed relieve pain to a certain extent and improve mobility.； But for healthy people or mild patients with occasional joint soreness, there is no statistical difference between the effect of taking aminoglucose and the placebo. The view in the domestic sports medicine circle is a little different. Many doctors who often come into contact with professional athletes will suggest that people who exercise for more than 10 hours a week, often run marathons, play basketball and other confrontational sports can periodically supplement aminoglycosides to help repair cartilage. As for ordinary people, there is really no need to take this as a daily health supplement. Not to mention the cost, eating too much may increase the metabolic burden.

Let me talk about a point that people often overlook. Many people's joint pain is not a problem of cartilage at all, but a problem of muscle strength that cannot keep up. A friend of mine who played badminton with me was diagnosed with a first-degree meniscus injury. The doctor asked him to go home and rest. He literally lay there for three months, barely getting out of bed except to eat and go to the bathroom. As a result, he couldn't stand up and walk. The quadriceps around his knees were as soft as dough, and the pain was even worse than before. Later, I went to a rehabilitation practitioner to practice static squats and straight leg raises for two months. My muscle strength improved. Now I can still play health balls twice a week without any problems. Oh, yes, there is also controversy here. Some people say that silent squatting hurts the knees, and some say that silent squatting is the best knee-protecting exercise. In fact, it is a matter of degree: the knees should not exceed the toes, and the angle should not be less than 90 degrees. Every time you squat until your thighs feel sore, stop squatting.

There is another misunderstanding that I must talk about, which is that many young people think that "keeping joints warm is an old-fashioned idea." They wear ripped pants to expose their knees and ankles in winter. They say that Europeans and Americans wear single pants in winter and they don't suffer from arthritis. I really only know one thing but not the other. The incidence rate of osteoarthritis in European and American people is actually much higher than that in our country. However, their joint replacement surgeries are more popular. Many people can't stand the pain and go straight for surgery without delaying it at all. Last winter, I had a colleague who was riding an electric car to and from get off work because he thought it was ugly to wear knee pads, so he wore velvet jeans to carry it. After two weeks of freezing, his knees hurt so much that he couldn’t ride a bike. They still get sore on rainy days. The doctor said it was synovial inflammation of the joints caused by cold stimulation. Although it is not a big problem, the pain is really painful.

As for how to relieve joint discomfort that has already occurred? It doesn’t have to be so complicated. If you have just sprained it or your joint is red, swollen and hot, apply a cold compress first and don’t rub it or apply plaster to avoid aggravating the swelling. ； If your legs feel sore and heavy when you catch cold, just soak your feet and apply a hot water bottle for 10 minutes. It will be very comfortable. If the pain is severe, take some ibuprofen according to the instructions. Don't take it hard, and don't overeat. It won't be a big problem.

After all, arthritis is really not that scary, and you don’t need to worry about paralysis when you see sore joints. Most people’s joint problems are caused by themselves: either they are so fat that their knees can’t bear it, or they run a half-marathon every day, or they sit for a long time and their muscles are so weak that they can’t support the joints. Pay more attention to the feeling of your joints at ordinary times, take a break if it hurts, and don't hold on, it will be more effective than any sky-high-priced health products.