Cartilage Health and Quality Could Be Improved by Intensive Aquatic Resistance Training

(Newswire.net — March 6, 2017) Orlando, FL — Osteoarthritis affects various parts of the body, such as the hips and knees. Many individuals with osteoarthritis suffer from pain and immobility, which reduce the quality of their life. There are pain management options arthritis sufferers turn to, and one is exercise.

Cartilage health and quality could be improved by intensive aquatic resistance training. There are certain exercise programs that are believed to be quite helpful to individuals with arthritis. These programs have helped many arthritis sufferers improve their pain, function, and overall quality of life.

The Department of Health Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland conducted a study that tried to investigate the efficacy of aquatic resistance training on cardiovascular fitness, tibiofemoral cartilage quality, and osteoarthritis-related pain in postmenopausal women suffering from mild knee osteoarthritis.

There were organizations or departments that cooperated in conducting the studies. They are the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology at the University of Helsinki, Finland, Central Finland Central Hospital, the Department of Medical Technology, and Institute of Biomedicine at the University of Oulu, Finland.

The participants were eighty-seven postmenopausal women who were between 60 to 68 years old. They suffered from knee pain and experienced osteoarthritis-related changes in the knee joint, which were radiographically confirmed.

Matti Munukka and Benjamin Waller, doctoral students and physiotherapists, reveal that avoidance of high intensity physical activities usually results in osteoarthritis-related knee pain. These activities are actually essential in maintaining cartilage health as well as cardiovascular fitness.

It was also found that aquatic resistance training, even at high intensities, is safe and well tolerated. It produces stimulus that sufficiently promotes cartilage health as well as cardiovascular fitness.

In the study, it has been shown that aquatic exercise can reduce pain as well as enhance function in individuals with knee osteoarthritis.

The researchers suggest that high intensity aquatic resistance training that could provide cardiovascular fitness could actually produce a sufficient stimulus, which could enhance collagen orientation and reduce hydration in articular cartilage.

Exercise programs are extremely helpful in individuals with arthritis. However, there are also pain management options available that are also extremely useful for sufferers.

One of these options is the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These medications are believed to help fight arthritis pain as well as inflammation.

There are also many individuals with arthritis who turn to the use of safer alternatives, such as glucosamine supplements. Glucosamine is extremely useful in repairing cartilage damage and improving overall joint health.

Glucosamine supplements containing other therapeutic ingredients, such as MSM, chondroitin, and turmeric are extremely popular nowadays (http://amazon.com/Glucosamine-Sulfate-Chondroitin-Supplement-Turmeric/dp/B00DUMO9X4

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