Osteoarthritis : Lack of physical activity is the main risk factor

This phenomenon is partly explained by the increase in sedentary lifestyles and the change in diet, which is now too rich in fat, leading to overweight and metabolic diseases.

E.S.N

“A person who is obese from adolescence onwards can suffer from osteoarthritis from the age of 30,” explains Professor Francis
Berenbaum, rheumatologist. Obesity and overweight also play an important role: a person who is obese from adolescence can suffer from osteoarthritis from the age of 30. Associated metabolic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, are also involved.
Osteoarthritis is a disease resulting in abnormal degeneration of cartilage. Excess weight and lack of physical activity are two other important factors. As a result, there is a loss of quality in the synovial fluid, a clear, thick, egg-white-like fluid that normally
lubricates the joint. Joint pain can be a warning sign, although it is not always present even when the disease is visible on X-ray. On the X-ray, the doctor can immediately see that the cartilage has thinned and lost fragments that have fallen into the joint cavity: it is these deposits that cause inflammation and the membrane lining the joint may react by increasing its secretion of synovial fluid.
The thickening of the bone on which the cartilage rests can also be seen on X-rays: it reacts in this way to counteract the excess
pressure. Often, especially in older people, it is the spine that is affected, more precisely the lumbar (70%) or cervical (75%) spine. But osteoarthritis of the fingers is also frequent (60%), ahead of that of the knee (30%), feet or hip (10% each). A study published in 2017 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) showed that the frequency of osteoarthritis of the knee has doubled between the beginning of the 20th century and the present day, at the same age. This phenomenon can be explained in part by the increase in sedentary lifestyles and the change in diet, which is now too rich in fats, leading to overweight and metabolic diseases. Of course, the ageing of the population also means that there are more and more cases of arthrosis. Chronic disease According to Prof. Madeleine Ngandeu, rheumatologist, the people at risk are people who are overweight and the elderly. “If we talk about the evolution of osteoarthritis, it starts around the age of 20; 25, where the cartilage
starts to take a beating, but you don’t realise it. As we get older, and we wear out our joints, and around the age of 40, we have pain that can sometimes make us bedridden … etc. and around the fifties, the clinical picture of osteoarthritis with all the manifestations really sets in,” explained
the head of the CRTV national station. According to the head of the medical-social centre of the University of Yaounde 1, there is a treatment for the pain generated by osteoarthritis. But for the moment there is no medicine that can rebuild the cartilage.
It is a chronic disease, and you have to learn to live with it. It evolves with ups and downs. As far as pain is concerned, there is a molecule that has demonstrated its effectiveness. Studies are underway to ensure its tolerance.
The objective of bringing it to market is set for the end of 2019, early 2020. And then there is also a major European project, the ADIPOA trial, in which stem cells are taken from the fat of the stomach and injected into the knee. The stem cells are capable of producing anti-inflammatory molecules that could delay the progress of the disease. Three French hospitals are participating and results are expected by the end of 2019.
Primary prevention
Prevention of osteoarthritis is possible. First of all, primary prevention is to avoid gaining weight, to move around a little bit, to do physical exercise. But I wouldn’t say that this is 100% preventive. You have to avoid all the risk factors. Secondary prevention
is already someone who already has osteoarthritis. We know that osteoarthritis is more frequent in older people, women,
menopausal women, obese people. Weight must be avoided with hygienic and dietary measures.
You need to do some exercise. Because the worst thing is when you are in pain and you lock yourself in a corner.