By Colin Lloyd September 26, 2022
What the Research Tells Us
Recent research into cartilage health at a cellular level has revealed something important: compression drives the maintenance process in cartilage. The joint needs impact to maintain itself.
For years, people assumed that the pounding from exercise wore out arthritic joints. The opposite is true – controlled impact is what repairs them.
Straight compression drives repair. Impact that is slightly higher than everyday levels is even better.
What cartilage does not like is sideways shearing forces – those tend to provoke inflammation.
The Three Keys
1. Build Good Muscle Strength
The muscles surrounding a joint keep it controlled, aligned, and protected. Better muscular control means fewer shearing forces on the cartilage. We have known for decades that stronger muscles around a joint mean it lasts longer and usually hurts less.
2. Keep Up Physical Activity
Don’t rest a sore arthritic joint. It might feel easier in the short term, but reduced activity means less compression into the cartilage – and that cartilage needs compression to maintain itself.
The goal is a sensible middle ground: enough activity to keep the cartilage healthy, but not so much that the joint becomes too inflamed to function.
3. Manage Your Weight
Not primarily because weight adds pressure (compression is good, remember), but because metabolic changes associated with obesity impair the body’s repair systems. Joint repair doesn’t work as efficiently. Movement patterns may also change, increasing shearing forces.
How We Can Help
When you are in pain, starting an exercise programme can feel daunting. We can guide you on where to begin, help calm the pain, advise on lifestyle adjustments that protect the joint, and help you progress safely. See our page on conditions we treat for more on joint and muscle pain, or explore our treatments to understand how we approach rehabilitation.
Book an appointment to discuss your situation.