Unexpected side effects of cycling on knee joints revealed

Potential diseases may be avoided by cycling

A study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise shows that people who cycled regularly throughout their lives had lower health outcomes. prevalence of frequent knee pain.

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Rheumatologists often recommend regular physical activity to prevent osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis. However, some exercises are more effective than others. In the new study, researchers were interested in examining the relationship between cycling and the symptomatic and structural consequences of knee osteoarthritis.

Rheumatologist Grace Lo conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of Osteoarthritis Initiative respondents — multicenter observational study of knee osteoarthritis in people aged 45 to 79 years.

The questionnaire asked about leisure-time physical activity throughout their life, including cycling (outdoor or individual cycling) during four age periods of their lives: 12–18 years; 19-34; 35-49 years old; and 50 years and older. For each period, they reported the number of years, months of the year, and number of times per month that they cycled. More than 2,600 participants completed the questionnaire, and more than half of them indicated that they rode a bike regularly.

The study found that people who rode a bike at some point in their lives reported less pain in their necks. knee Moreover, those who cycled at different ages in their lives reported even fewer illnesses.

“Cyclists were 17 percent less likely to experience frequent knee pain, 9 percent less likely to develop radiographic osteoarthritis (ROA), and 21 percent less likely to develop symptomatic radiographic osteoarthritis (SOA) compared to non-cyclists.” bicycle, — Lo commented. — In addition, each increase in the age of cycling was associated with a decrease in the likelihood of knee pain, ROA, and SOA complaints.

The main limitation of the study was that information on cycling was obtained retrospectively. However, respondents were not aware of the hypothesis when they recorded their cycling history, reducing the likelihood of recall bias.

Data collected as part of the Osteoarthritis Initiative were also used to assess running and swimming as forms of activity that can lead to improvements in knee pain, SOA, and ROA.

«The natural history of osteoarthritis is very long, making it difficult to track the different exercises you will do throughout your life, as well as their impact on joint health,” — Law summarizes.

The main takeaway from this observational study is that if people are worried about knee pain, ROA, and SOA later in life, cycling may be a way to prevent it, and the more often The more likely they are to do this throughout their lives, the more likely they are to improve their knee health.