Keep pedaling for healthy knees

Sep 1, 2009 10:44 AM

I live half-way up a hill. It’s a lovely spot, but it does mean whenever I take my bicycle out for a spin, I’m going to find myself pedaling hard uphill, either on my way out or on my way back.

Instead of grumbling about the strain on my legs, next time I’ll be smugly reminding myself that I could be staving off knee osteoarthritis in years to come.

A new study suggests that women with stronger quadriceps (the muscle at the front of the thigh) are less likely to get painful knee arthritis.

Previous studies have suggested a connection between muscle strength and arthritis, but it’s been hard to prove. As people with arthritis tend to get less exercise, their muscles tend to get weaker. Weak muscles could be a consequence of arthritis, not a cause.

But this latest study started by measuring the strength of people’s leg muscles when they didn’t have arthritis, and followed them up to see whether they got it or not. Although the study isn’t conclusive for men, for women it does suggest that the strength in your quadriceps is protective.

Even people who already have knee arthritis can benefit from exercise. Other research shows that regular exercise programs (subscribers only) can help ease the pain of arthritis, and make it easier to keep mobile. And keeping to a sensible weight can help you avoid arthritis, too.What you need to know. There’s plenty of good reasons to keep active and get regular exercise as you get older. Freedom from painful knee arthritis could be another one. As for me, I’ll be on my bike.

—Anna Sayburn, patient editor, BMJ Group

ConsumerReportsHealth.org has partnered with The BMJ Group (British Medical Journal) to monitor the latest medical research and assess the evidence to help you decide which news you should use.

Find out if you're at risk for osteoarthritis, see our comparison of drug and non-drug treatments (subscribers only), read more about how knee replacements might help relieve your arthritis pain, and see our latest report and Ratings(subscribers only) on 9 exercise bikes.