Movement is Medicine

 

Conventional wisdom in the past has been that all joints "wear out" at some point, so you probably shouldn't use them too much.  For example, I have had numerous patients tell me that their primary care physician has told them to stop running due to their knee arthritis. This is actually the opposite of what most recent research has shown.  We are now finding that sedentary joints become worse due to atrophy (disuse).  This is because the movement of the joint actually nourishes it.

The joints in the spinal column, hips and knees are synovial joints. The bones of a synovial joint are surrounded by a synovial capsule, which secretes synovial fluid to lubricate and nourish the joint while acting as a shock absorber. The ends of the joint bones are covered with smooth, glass-like hyaline cartilage which reduces friction during movement. So moving them is the best way to keep them nourished. 

In fact, in a 2018 study of marathon runners, LESS knee and hip arthritis was found in the runners when compared to the general population. ( The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery: January 17, 2018 - Volume 100 - Issue 2 - p 131-137doi: 10.2106/JBJS.16.01071)

Not everyone needs to be a marathon runner.  But I believe that if someone wants to run for exercise, they should be able to. You may be asking yourself, "If moving the joint makes it healthier, why does it hurt when I move it?"  I would respond with "How can you be sure it's the joint that hurts?"  With literally dozens of muscle tendons, nerves and other soft tissues involved with a knee joint, how can you be sure it is "in the joint?"  The short answer is - you can't.  But now that we know it may not be the joint, it helps us get a bit closer to the truth.