‘Lead active life to keep arthritis in check’

Hyderabad: Contrary to the popular perception that people with arthritis should avoid leading an active life, a senior orthopaedics surgeon on the occasion of World Arthritis Day on Tuesday, maintained that such individuals must make sure to lead an active life, which helps in managing their medical condition. For arthritic patients, walking is an efficient […]

Hyderabad: Contrary to the popular perception that people with arthritis should avoid leading an active life, a senior orthopaedics surgeon on the occasion of World Arthritis Day on Tuesday, maintained that such individuals must make sure to lead an active life, which helps in managing their medical condition.

For arthritic patients, walking is an efficient exercise to prevent the disease from progressing.
A daily dose of walking will not only help in keeping the body weight under control but will also relieve the pain, stiffness, swelling and even strengthens joints, says senior orthopaedic and joint replacement surgeon, Yashoda Hospitals, Dr Sunil Dachepalli.

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How much should arthritic patients walk? “They should only walk as much as they can. I advise them to start slow and increase the volume gradually to atleast five times a week,” he says.

Low impact exercises that bear less stress on weight-bearing joints in hips, knees and feet, like walking, cycling and even swimming, should be pursued. All high impact sports like jogging, sprinting, running and skipping that exert pressure on joints must be avoided, he advises.

On pain management, Dr Sunil says the patients can depend on simple formulations like ointments, balm, gels and hot fomentations to ease the pain. “There will come a time when such solutions will not work. In such circumstances, I would recommend paracetamol and tramadol tablets, which are safe. Once in a while, they can take pain killers,” he says.

The senior surgeon said that in India, every year about 10 million cases of arthritis are detected and among general population, about 20 per cent have arthritis. “So, if majority of patients or individuals inculcate the habit of walking, or simple exercises, they can postpone their surgery or don’t need it immediately,” he added.

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