Countless people have knee
osteoarthritis in both or one knee. That does not
make it any easier on its
sufferers though. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC has some new exercise tips and
treatments our La Grande 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 experience a loss of knee
extensor strength, an increase in the 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 demonstrated a
positive effect on cartilage structure even though just which physical activity
is best has yet to be determined. (2) Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC sees
new treatment ideas being studied a lot.
KOA TREATMENT: Your
La Grande chiropractor has it.
A chiropractic treatment approach has demonstrated
potential. A trial of Cox® flexion distraction decompression
principled treatment for knee osteoarthritis – namely 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) Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC
can link this treatment (and even some cartilage-supporting
nutrition!) with your home-exercise for relief.
KOA TREATMENT: YOU, our La Grande knee pain patient
Despite
the benefits of exercise on KOA is well known, KOA
sufferers do not very well continue the exercise routine. One study made an easy-to-follow video set and calendar system that
automatically noted when their did the exercises that demonstrated an
82.4% participation rate. Not bad! The patients also described satisfaction, pain reduction, and improved
physical function. (4) One 4-week intervention of unilateral, 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) Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC knows
a KOA sufferer won’t 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 reduce 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 unilateral KOA
and found that markers for skeletal muscle tissues were higher.
(6) All these studies on various approaches
to manage knee osteoarthritis may hopefully find a
way to ease/prevent/better manage this common ailment.
CONTACT Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Luigi Albano on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr.
Michael Johnson as he describes relieving
chiropractic knee treatment via The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain
Management for patients with KOA.
Schedule your La Grande chiropractic
appointment now. Do you experience
knee osteoarthritis? Come in for
a visit!