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Knee Pain While Using Stairs May Be Osteoarthritis Symptom

Home > News > Knee Pain While Using Stairs May Be Osteoarthritis Symptom
Posted: Jan 30, 2015 | by admin | 0 Comment

Virginia Orthopaedic & Spine Specialists, knee replacement, fast recoveryResearchers believe the first symptoms of osteoarthritis begin with pain while going up and down stairs.

The research, published in the medical journal Arthritis Care & Research, aims to improve early detection of osteoarthritis and increase the likelihood of people to seek effective treatment. Researchers at the University of Leeds looked at which patient-reported activities were first associated with knee pain.

“At present we have little concept of ‘early’ osteoarthritis and often only see people when they have significant longstanding pain and loss of function,” said Philip Conaghan, professor of musculoskeletal medicine in the University of Leeds School of Medicine. “This research is vital to understanding early symptoms of knee osteoarthritis. Knowing this will help us intervene earlier, perhaps leading to more effective ways of treating this very painful condition.”

Nearly 27 million Americans age 25 and older are diagnosed with osteoarthritis or, OA, according to published studies. Previous research reports that knee OA is the leading cause of functional limitation among older adults, making walking and climbing stairs difficult. About 80 percent of OA patients have some limitation in movement, with 11 percent of adults with knee OA needing assistance with personal care assistance, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

For the Leeds study, the team looked at the cases of 4,673 people who had, or were at high risk of, osteoarthritis. Participants completed annual surveys for up to seven years in order to help the researchers track the emergence of pain during different activities over a long-term period.

The study revealed that using stairs was the first weight-bearing task in which people noticed pain.

This was followed by pain emerging during walking, standing, lying or sitting and then finally when resting in bed.

Health professionals recommend walking 6,000 steps daily to help prevent the risk of developing mobility issues associated with osteoarthritis. A previous study found that walking 6,000 or more steps per day may protect those with or at risk of knee of OA from developing problems, such as difficulty getting up from a chair and climbing stairs. That study was published in the American College of Rheumatology journal, Arthritis Care & Research.

Sources: University of Leeds, Arthritis Care & Research

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