Early Stages of Osteoarthritis? Don"t Exercise, Say Doctors

Arthritis is one of the body’s harshest scourges to deal with, with the capacity to become completely crippling if the individual doesn’t look after themselves. In the early stages, the new sensations of pain can become discomforting, especially if you were once such an active person.

According to Washington research, high-impact exercises may not be the best thing for you when dealing with the first signs of osteoarthritis.

Whilst it is related to arthritis, the nature of osteoarthritis is that the symptoms are caused by the joints rubbing against each other vigorously. The layer (the cartilage) between the joints is gradually ground away, causing severe amounts of pain.

“The cartilage is a stiff sponge, filled with fluid, and as we compress it, fluid has to percolate through these closely spaced GAG chains,” said Alan Grodzinsky, an MIT professor of biological, electrical and mechanical engineering and senior author of the study. “The GAG chains provide resistance to flow, so the water can`t get out of our cartilage instantly when we compress it. That pressurization at the nanoscale increases the stiffness of our cartilage to high-loading-rate activities,” he added.

The researchers found that the cartilage is far more susceptible to damage in heavy activities, such as running or jumping.

The issues arise from the aforementioned fluid, the molecules of which are in the scope of the researchers’ eyes.

The GAG chain creates the stiffening in the cartilage, which is caused by a variety between high-impact sport to doing absolutely little. They found that the molecules within the fluid changed, whilst comparing a normal, intact cartilage to that which was undergoing the first stages of osteoarthritis. Both were given an enzyme that destroyed the GAG chain.

The normal cartilage was able to absorb the fluid, whilst the other leaked it out.

“That`s what puts the collagen in trouble, because now this becomes a very floppy sponge, and if you load it at higher rates the collagen network can be damaged. At that point you begin an irreversible series of activities that can result in damage to the collagen and eventually osteoarthritis,” Grodzinsky said.

Early Stages of Osteoarthritis? Don"t Exercise, Say Doctors

Categories: activities, Arthritis, cartilage, Early Stages, exercise, fluid, gag chain, gag chains, high impact, joints and bones, Osteoarthritis, Research

Can Coral Help You to Treat Osteo-Arthritis?

Studies have found that implants made from coral could help to renew knee joints in people suffering with osteo-arthritis. Helping to stimulate the growth of new tissue in the cartilage, through stem cells, this new medical technology could offer a great deal of hope for people who deal with this debilitating disease. The body’s own immature cells can develop into any type of tissue, including that in the joints. Those dealing with osteo-arthritis could be in luck, as this study offers promising results in the development of new treatments.

Researchers chose to use coral as its structure is closely linked to that of bones in the human body, which helps to provide the ideal scaffold for new blood vessels and cartilage to connect to. It’s thought that around eight million people in the UK have some variation of osteo-arthritis, which damages and destroys the cartilage – this is the body’s natural shock absorber which helps to reduce the impact from walking and running. Scientists worked with the coral segments by coating them in human growth factors, which encourage the development of new cells in the body.

Currently, there are no options with regards to medication for this condition, so people suffering with it are crippled with pain and swelling in the joints. Other risk factors, such as family history and weight impact the severity of the arthritis as well. Coral has been used in bone grafts for many years, as new cells need something to build from inside the body – coral works as a scaffold. This study offers hope for osteo-arthritis sufferers though, as researchers believe it could be used for cartilage replacements. Results from recent studies found that after six to twelve months, the stem cells had created a new layer of cartilage and the coral implant has dissolved.

 

Can Coral Help You to Treat Osteo-Arthritis?

Categories: Arthritis, cartilage, cells, coral, osteo arthritis, Osteoarthritis, people suffering, stem cells, study offers, treatment