1. What is arthritis?
Arthritis in medicine includes a large category of joint diseases. Arthritis, as it is commonly known, is technically called osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative bone and joint disease, or wear-and-tear arthritis, or wear and tear arthritis. Arthritis is very common, and almost everyone has one or two people around them who have arthritis.
Our body’s joints are covered with a thin layer of cartilage. This layer of cartilage serves as a lubricant, absorbs shock, and reduces friction. Once this layer of cartilage wears away due to overuse or external damage, the surface is no longer smooth and joint movement causes uncomfortable friction between the two joint heads, resulting in pain and inflammation, which leads to arthritis.
Arthritis can occur in almost all joints, but is common in the knee, hip, lumbar spine, neck, and finger joints, with the knee joint being the most common.
2. Statistics.
Many people assume that cold is the cause of arthritis. There are also many people who believe that moving to a warmer place will cure arthritis because they are away from the cold climate. If this holds true, then theoretically, there should be no arthritis in Southern California, where the author of this article lives, where it is warm in all seasons, or at least much less than in the cold north.
Take a look at this chart. Here are the 2009 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The incidence of arthritis in warm California residents is the same as in freezing Illinois. The same goes for hot Florida and cold Alaska all year long. Extremely cold Maine has the same incidence rate as hot Alabama.
Could that be because people in cold places in the north do a better job of protecting their joints from the cold than people in warm places in the south?
If you have visited Japan in winter, you will probably be impressed by the Japanese high school girls with bare thighs and mini skirts in the cold and snow on the streets. Japanese children, from childhood to adulthood, the school uniform is a short skirt, little girls in order to beauty, the winter also deliberately rolled up the skirt to reveal the bare knees and calves. Onlookers shudder.
Let’s compare the incidence of arthritis in Tokyo women as adults with that of the backward region of Wuchuan in China at the same latitude.
According to a 2009 study by the University of Tokyo, the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis among women in the Tokyo area was 24.3% and 35.2% in the 50-59 age group and 60-69 age group, respectively. In the same period, statistics from Renmin University in China showed that the incidence of knee osteoarthritis was 13% and 40% in the 50-59 and 60-69 age groups for women in the Wukawa area, respectively. 60 years and older, which is higher than in Tokyo. This still ignores the fact that the proportion of women who seek medical treatment in Japan should be much higher than in the Takigawa area because of the excellent medical system.
3. Cold does not cause arthritis, overuse does
Studies show that the occupations with the highest incidence of knee arthritis are those that require long periods of standing work, such as cleaners, farmers, teachers, surgeons, sprinters, etc., and not fishermen or divers who are often immersed in water. The incidence of knee osteoarthritis is low among white-collar workers who sit in offices, but the incidence of neck osteoarthritis is high. A Canadian survey in 2005 showed that the highest incidence rates were in the order of laundry workers, women garment workers, construction workers, and farmers. Some occupations can even be observed to have twice the incidence of bosses than employees because bosses are always walking around supervising workers.
Again, let’s see what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Institute of Arthritis and Dermatology, and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons have to say.
Without exception, the recounting of the causes of arthritis is remarkably consistent.
”Because of wear and tear or damage to the cartilage of the joint surfaces due to prolonged and repeated use. Cold does not cause arthritis, nor does it aggravate it, but it may exacerbate existing arthritic symptoms.”
In fact, the NIH did an interesting experiment earlier in the year. They exposed the knee joints of 22 rabbits to extremely low temperatures (-80 degrees), which led to partial cell necrosis of the cartilage in the joint head, and after six months of autopsy found no cases of osteoarthritis occurring.
Therefore, cold is not the cause of arthritis. It is not the cold that causes arthritis, but overuse.
But in real life, almost everyone has one or two elders around, and when the climate changes or even on the eve of a rainstorm, he or she always predicts it in advance, because “my knee tells me so”. There is even an English proverb that says “aches and pains, coming rains”.
Is this true?
Most scientific studies have come to the conclusion that there is no confirmation, so the word “possible” is used. Although many studies have confirmed the existence of this association, a 1985 double-blind trial concluded the opposite, showing that there was no connection between the self-conscious symptoms of arthritis patients and actual weather changes.
But it is true that many people have testified that cold or rain and snow can worsen arthritis symptoms. Why is this so?
One possible explanation is that the exacerbation may not be caused by the cold, but most likely by the change in atmospheric pressure that occurs before a rainstorm. Before a rainstorm, the air pressure drops, causing the tissue around the joint to expand and therefore irritate the knee joint. Another possible explanation is that the muscles and blood vessels of the knee joint and the cartilage of the bones have different densities and are inconsistent with the degree of contraction caused by cold, and the resulting slight strain can lead to increased pain.
4. Factors leading to arthritis
Since cold does not lead to arthritis, what factors do?
There are two types of risk factors that lead to arthritis. One is a factor that cannot be changed, and the other is one that can be changed through lifestyle adjustments and therefore can be avoided or reduced in the onset of arthritis.
5. The unchangeable ones are.
Age: Arthritis is mostly in the elderly because it is mechanical wear and tear, and the longer the joints are used, the higher the incidence.
Women: Unfortunately, the incidence of arthritis is much higher in women than in men, and the reasons for this are not very clear.
Heredity: Some patients have a family history of the disease, but the exact cause cannot be determined.
6. Adjustments can be made to change the following
Obesity: excess weight causes tremendous pressure on the knee joint, so the heavier it is, the higher the degree of wear and tear on the knee cartilage, the higher the incidence of arthritis.
Joint injury: For example, soccer players, sprinters, knee overload use is much higher than normal people, will also largely increase the incidence of arthritis.
Occupation: Occupations that involve prolonged standing, such as teachers, surgeons, porters, and construction workers. These occupations put long-term strain on the knees and naturally increase the incidence of arthritis.
Others: Diabetes, low thyroid, gout, etc., all increase the incidence of arthritis to some degree.
7.What should I do if I unfortunately have arthritis?
Unfortunately, there is no cure for arthritis. Medications can relieve pain, but cannot cure arthritis because, as already mentioned, arthritis is mechanical wear and tear of the cartilage in the joint head. But the right medications, proper rest, warmth, hot or cold compresses (yes, there are many patients who do better with cold compresses), and moderate exercise can help relieve symptoms and slow the progression of the disease. If you are overweight, of course, the first step is to gradually lower your weight to reduce the pressure on the knee joint.
8. So what kind of exercise is appropriate?
The CDC’s recommendation is 2 1/2 hours of aerobic exercise per week, or 1 hour and 15 minutes of moderate intensity exercise. Also add muscle stretching activities at least twice a week. Being bedridden can worsen arthritis and exacerbate symptoms.
So what exercises can be considered aerobic exercise for the elderly?
Slightly fast walking, cycling, swimming, tidying the garden, gateball, social dancing, Tai Chi, backward walking, etc. are all good exercises. But it’s all about persistence!