Exercise Can Prevent Cartilage Damage Caused by Osteoarthritis

by Adeline Dorcas on March 28, 2019 at 11:32 AM

Exercise can prevent cartilage damage caused by arthritis, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage.

Exercise helps to prevent the degradation of cartilage caused by osteoarthritis, according to a new study from Queen Mary University of London.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is one of the commonest joint disorder and occurs as we age due to wear and tear of a joint. Osteoarthritis can affect any joint of the body.

‘Exercising every day is good for your health. A new study suggests that regular exercise can prevent cartilage damage caused by arthritis.’
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A team of researchers shows for the first time how mechanical forces experienced by cells in joints during exercise prevent cartilage degradation by suppressing the action of inflammatory molecules which cause osteoarthritis.

The study demonstrates the benefits of exercise on the tissues that form our joints and how this is down to tiny hair-like structures called primary cilia found on living cells.

Benefits of Aerobic Exercises

Aerobics is a physical exercise that includes activities like dance, cycling, running, stretching and many more. Aerobic exercise can benefit your health in many ways.

During exercise, the cartilage in joints such as the hip and knee is squashed. This mechanical distortion is detected by the living cells in the cartilage which then block the action of inflammatory molecules associated with conditions such as arthritis.

The researchers show that this anti-inflammatory effect of physical activity is caused by activation of a particular protein, called HDAC6, which triggers changes in the proteins that form primary cilia.

Pharmaceutical drugs that blocked HDAC6 activation prevented the anti-inflammatory effects of physical activity, whilst other drug treatments were able to mimic the benefits of exercise.

Changes in length of the primary cilia, which are only a few 1000th of a millimeter, provided a biomarker of the level of inflammation. Cilia got longer during inflammation, but treatments that prevented this elongation successfully prevented inflammation.

Mr. Su Fu, a Ph.D. student at Queen Mary University of London and study author, said: "We have known for some time that healthy exercise is good for you - now we know the process through which exercise prevents cartilage degradation."

Professor Martin Knight, the lead researcher of the study, added: "These findings may also explain the anti-inflammatory effects of normal blood flow in arteries which is important for preventing arterial diseases such as atherosclerosis and aneurism."

The research team hopes that these findings will help in the search for treatments for arthritis which affects over three million people in the UK causing stiff and painful joints.

The research team suggests the results may lead to a whole new therapeutic approach known as mechano-medicine in which drugs simulate the effect of mechanical forces to prevent the damaging effects of inflammation and treat conditions such as arthritis.

Source: Eurekalert

Exercise

It is important for us to understand the power of daily exercise. Only then can we motivate ourselves to inculcate the habit of exercise on a daily basis.

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Physiotherapy for Arthritis

Physiotherapy enables patients with debilitating disease to regain loss of function in their muscles, and joints. Physiotherapy for rheumatoid arthritis involves electrostimulation and hydrotherapy.