Originally published February 8 2006
Study finds exercise protects adults against arthritis-related disabilities
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Arthritis & Rheumatism has published a study of arthritis led by Dr. Joe Feinglass, who believes that the smallest amount of exercise helps prevent disabilities stemming from arthritis.
Even a quite modest amount of exercise might be better than none at all when it comes to preventing disability from arthritis, new research suggests.
In a study that followed more than 3,500 U.S. adults with arthritis, researchers found that those who were getting some regular physical activity at the study's start were less likely than their sedentary peers to develop worsening problems with walking, climbing stairs and other daily activities.
What's more, exercisers were more likely than inactive adults to show improvements in any mobility problems they had at the outset.
The findings are published in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism.
Among older Americans, osteoarthritis is one of the major causes of functional decline -- problems with daily activities like walking short distances, bathing and preparing meals.
Study participants who got some exercise -- but less than 30 minutes per day of moderate activity or less than 20 minutes of vigorous exercise -- were still less likely than inactive arthritis sufferers to show functional decline over time.
However, that doesn't mean there's no benefit to getting more exercise, noted Feinglass, a research associate professor at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago.
He told Reuters Health that he and his colleagues have found, in this same study group, that vigorous exercise lowered the risk of type 2 diabetes -- a major risk factor for such ills as heart attack and stroke -- while modest activity did not.
In their study, he and his colleagues divided participants up into three groups based on their reported leisure-time activities at the start of the study: an inactive group, an insufficiently active group, and a group that got the recommended level of exercise for adults - at least 30 minutes of moderate activity like walking or gardening on most days of the week, or 20 minutes of vigorous exercise like running or swimming.
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