The Stiff Knees of Osteoarthritis

If you have been suffering from the stiffness of osteoarthritis, you can relieve your pain and stiffness with just a few steps. The simple act of walking seems to help improve the stiffness and it can help relieve the pain of osteoarthritis of the knees.

This is a disease that over 16 million people who live in the United States have. It affects your joints which causes them to become stiff and painful.

The actual knee joint can be affected and it makes it very hard for some people to even walk. But actually the simple exercise of walking is one thing that can help loosen the knee joints of people with osteoarthritis.

A test group of 102 people who had osteoarthritis in their knees and all over 40 years old were divided into two groups. One of the groups walked 30 minutes three times a week for eight weeks and also attended special classes on osteaoarthritis along with being in support groups. The other group did no exercise program but did have classes and support groups.

After eight weeks the exercise group showed improvement in the pain they had and were able to move around easier. None of them said that the walking made the pain or stiffness worse. Most of them could actually walk quite a bit farther than they could at the beginning of the study. The other group that didn't do the weekly walking reported little or no improvement.

This goes to show that even if you feel you can hardly walk now with the pain and stiffness of osteoarthritis knees that by doing just that (walking) you will get better. So make the decision now to get up and get moving knowing that in the long run it will help you feel better.