Arthritis prevention and care measures

The core of arthritis prevention is to control a reasonable weight, reduce long-term overload use of joints, and avoid inappropriate postures. Nursing care is centered on reducing inflammatory reactions, delaying joint degeneration, and maintaining normal mobility. Currently, clinically proven effective intervention methods cover three major directions: lifestyle adjustment, exercise intervention, and medical intervention. There is no "universal prescription" that applies to everyone, and an appropriate plan needs to be selected based on the degree of joint damage and underlying diseases.

A while ago, a 32-year-old Internet operator came to the outpatient clinic. He commuted 10 minutes to the subway station in 5cm stilettos every day. He also spent time in the gym on weekends to do deadlift PRs. Last month, he was so painful when squatting on the toilet that he couldn't stand up. He came for a check-up. The result was patellar chondromalacia and early knee osteoarthritis. She looked confused while holding the report, saying arthritis was not a disease only suffered by old men and old ladies? In fact, patients with early-stage arthritis aged 30-40 now account for almost 30% of our joint clinics. Most of them damage their joints without paying attention.

When it comes to prevention, the first reaction of many people is to lose weight. This is indeed true. It is generally believed in orthopedic clinical practice that people with a BMI over 24 will bear 3-4 times the pressure on their knees when walking, and it can reach 6 times when running and jumping. As long as you can lose 10% of your weight, the probability of joint pain attacks can be reduced by 50%. But it does not mean that thinner is better. The viewpoint in the field of sports medicine can just make up for this blind spot: I have seen many girls with a BMI of only 19 who climbed 20 floors every day in order to lose weight quickly. In three months, they suffered secondary damage to the meniscus, and instead suffered from early arthritis. To put it bluntly, body weight is not the only criterion. Only when the body fat rate is stable in the 20%-25% range and the muscles of the lower limbs are sufficient can the joints be given sufficient support, which is much more effective than simply starving to lose weight.

Many people are afraid of hurting their joints and simply don't move. This is actually the other extreme. There used to be a retired teacher who did not dare to go out after being diagnosed with mild arthritis. He sat at home and watched TV every day. As a result, half a year later he grinned in pain when he went downstairs to buy groceries. Later, he followed us for two months of silent squatting exercises, and now he can go to the square to dance ballroom dancing for half an hour at night. Oh, by the way, there is a lot of debate on the Internet now about "Does climbing stairs hurt your knees?" There is actually no standard answer: If you have no old knee injuries and your posture is correct, climbing three or four floors a day is not considered overload at all. Instead, it can exercise the quadriceps muscles and increase the protection of the joints. ； Only people who climb more than a dozen floors every day, or who have a large base weight and have already experienced joint degeneration, need to avoid climbing stairs and squatting. The statement that all weight-bearing exercises can be killed with one pole is really too one-sided.

If your joints are sore and swollen, it hurts when you catch a cold, or it hurts to go up and down stairs, you need to pay attention to care, don't carry it, and don't mess around. In terms of current thinking on arthritis care, there is actually a big difference between Chinese and Western medicine: Western medicine prefers the RICE principle in the acute phase (that is, when the joints are red, swollen and painful). Rest first, apply ice for 15-20 minutes, use an elastic bandage for moderate pressure, and raise the legs above the heart. This can quickly relieve swelling and pain. If necessary, you can take some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Don't force it. ； In terms of traditional Chinese medicine, mild moxibustion, acupuncture, and massage can improve local circulation and relieve soreness and discomfort in the chronic phase. However, you must find a doctor from a regular medical institution to operate it. Don't trust the "special effect plasters" sold at the health center at the entrance of the community. Many illegal products add large doses of hormones. The pain will disappear immediately after being applied. However, long-term use will accelerate cartilage degeneration, and the more you use it, the more serious it will be.

There is another topic that has been debated for many years: Will catching cold cause arthritis? Many people say that Western medicine does not recognize this statement. In fact, everyone has a misunderstanding: Western medicine believes that cold itself will not directly cause joint degeneration, but it will constrict the blood vessels around the joints, prevent inflammatory metabolites from being discharged, and induce inflammatory reactions in already degenerated joints. This is essentially the same thing as "cold evil invasion induces paralysis" in Chinese medicine, but the expression is different. I always wear fleece socks when I go out in the winter. When my knees get cold after sitting for a long time in the clinic, I also wear knee pads. Don’t think it’s fashionable to expose your ankles. It’s too late to cry when I get cold and hurt.

To put it bluntly, prevention is better than cure when it comes to arthritis. Don’t injure your joints, don’t wear high heels, warm up before exercise, and don’t rush around with weight. If you really feel pain, go to a regular hospital as soon as possible. It’s much more useful than searching for folk remedies online for half a day. After all, how many years a joint can last depends on how you treat it.