Countless people have knee
osteoarthritis in both or one knee. That does not
make it any easier on its
sufferers though. Manahawkin Chiropractic Center has some new exercise tips and
treatments our Manahawkin knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients will want
to try for themselves.
KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS (KOA): What It Is and How Common It Is
Knee osteoarthritis is aging-related
and oh so common! 86 million people globally
over 20 years old were diagnosed with it in 2020. Characteristically,
knee osteoarthritis sufferers experience 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 demonstrated a
positive effect on cartilage structure despite
not yet knowing which exercise is best. (2) Manahawkin Chiropractic Center sees
new treatment ideas being published all the time.
KOA TREATMENT: Your
Manahawkin chiropractor has it.
A chiropractic treatment approach has shown
potential. A trial of Cox® flexion distraction decompression
principled treatment 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) Manahawkin Chiropractic Center
can partner this treatment (and even some cartilage-supportive
nutrition!) with your home-exercise for relief.
KOA TREATMENT: YOU, our Manahawkin knee pain patient
Even though the benefits of exercise abound for KOA is well known, KOA
sufferers are not known to stick to the exercise practice. One study made an easy-to-follow video set and calendar system that
automatically noted when their did the exercises that showed an
82.4% participation rate. Not bad! The patients also shared their
noticed satisfaction, pain reduction, and improved
physical function. (4) One 4-week intervention of single
knee, 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 better
extensor strength and neuromuscular function of the knee with KOA maintained
itself for 3 months. (1) Manahawkin Chiropractic Center is pretty confident
a KOA sufferer will not care which knee is exercised as long as relief
is forthcoming! A proposed YOGA (YOGa and
strengthening exercise for knee osteoArthritis) study was recently proposed
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 a variety of approaches
to handle knee osteoarthritis may hopefully unearth a
way to ease/prevent/better manage this common ailment.
CONTACT Manahawkin Chiropractic Center
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Luigi Albano on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr.
Michael Johnson as he illustrates relieving
chiropractic knee treatment via The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain
Management for patients with KOA.
Make your Manahawkin chiropractic
appointment today. Are you ready for some knee pain relief? Come see us!