Can cracking your knuckles cause cartilage breakdown? Can texting trigger hand OA? Will wearing high heels damage your knee joints?Osteoarthritis(OA), sometimes called “wear and tear” arthritis, occurs when the cartilage or cushion between joints breaks down leading to pain, stiffness and swelling. So it’s often thought that if you engage in repetitive activity and put added stress on your joints, it can affect how quickly you get OA or how fast it progresses. Can these five lifestyle factors – knuckle cracking, texting, diet, high-impact exercise and high-heeled shoes – affect your joint health and possibly cause osteoarthritis? Here’s what research says.
Cracking Knuckles
Although knuckle cracking may irritate those around you, a 2011 study published in theJournal of the American Board of Family Medicine未能证实这种习惯与骨关节炎之间的联系。在对215名年龄在50岁到89岁之间的人的研究中，他们在过去的五年里做过一次右手x光检查。医生发现，在掰指关节的人和没有掰指关节的人中，任何一个关节的关节骨性关节炎的发生率相似。骨折的持续时间或发生频率也与相关关节的骨性关节炎无关。
Texting
Texting is a quick and convenient way to get messages to friends and colleagues, but if you have a child – particularly a daughter – who is constantly texting, she could be headed for osteoarthritis down the road, says Yusuf Yazici, MD, of NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York City. In a 2011 study of 257 children ages 9 to 15, girls who used cell phones reported twice as much pain as boys. The problem, says Dr. Yazici, is that the devices were not designed for children, whose bones and tendons are still developing. Injuries to those structures now, like other joint injuries, could precipitate the development of OA in those joints later.
Diet
Research has suggested that a diet rich in some nutrients – particularly vitamin E –mightreduce the risk of osteoarthritis or its progression. As far back as 1996, data from the Framingham study showed that men with the highest intake of vitamin E were 30 percent less likely to have progression of knee OA. However, some subsequent studies have not shown a protective effect of vitamin E, and one study of 3,026 men and women with or at high risk of knee OA published in 2014 inOsteoarthritis & Cartilagefound high blood levels of vitamins E and C may actually be associated withincreasedOA的风险。目前对OA最好的营养建议是健康饮食，帮助你保持健康的体重，因为肥胖是已知的OA及其进展的风险因素。
High-heeled Shoes
While wearing those sexy stilettos may not directly cause osteoarthritis, research suggests they could put your knees at risk. In a study published in the March 2012 issue ofGait and Posture, University of Iowa researchers had 15 women walk in selected three heel heights – flat, two inches, and 3.5 inches – and at both a preferred (self-selected) speed and at a fixed speed. When the researchers used special technology to calculate forces on the knee joint, they found that the height of the heels changed the women’s walking characteristics such as speed and stride length. As the heel height increased, they also saw an increase in compression on the medial, or inside, of the knee – possibly putting the women at risk for knee OA. “Our results suggest that the higher the heel – at least up until 3.5 inches – the worse the medial compartment loading becomes,” says study leader Danielle Barkema. The take-home message: saving your high heels for special occasions could help save your knees.
High-impact Exercise
While exercise is a good thing for people with osteoarthritis, research shows that middle-aged people who participate in high-impact, weight-bearing exercise may cause damage to their knees that leads to OA. In a study of 136 women and 100 men aged 45 to 55, researchers at the University of California San Francisco found that MRIs were more likely to show lesions of the cartilage, menisca and ligaments in those who reported high levels of physical activity compared to those with lower levels of activity. The message, researchers say, is to stick with lower impact exercises when possible.
Related Resources:
I get about 60% relief of pain and stiffness in all of my joints right after only one session of your “Take Control With Exercise” DVD. I absolutely HATE even the thought of “working out”, even walking (loss of the fat pads on the bottoms of my feet and major calluses). I need to get motivated to use it more often to keep more flexible and comfortable instead of waiting until I “need it”?