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Osteoarthritis in athletes

Posted March 2nd, 2007 at 4:00 AM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: Health & Fitness, Injury & Rehab

Former elite athletes are at high risk for degenerative arthritis requiring eventual hip and knee replacements (1), but that doesn’t mean that you should stop exercising!

Elite athletes often train through pain and compete when they are injured. You should never do that. Your body talks to you. If your hip or knee hurts when you exercise, stop exercising. If the pain returns every time that you run, stop running and find another sport. Most former athletes who end up with joint replacement surgery had major injuries that came from exercising when they should have rested, or traumatic injury that damaged cartilages.

Damaged cartilages never heal, so most people who have proven damage to their cartilage in their joints should stop running and jumping because high impact when their feet hit the ground is transmitted up to break more cartilage. Relatively safe hip and knee exercises include cycling and swimming because they are done in a smooth rotary motion without road shock or in the water that protects the joints. When the pain in your knee is so bad that it prevents you from sleeping, it may be time to get your knee replaced.

This post is written by Dr. Gabe Mirkin, M.D. and used with permission. Dr. Mirkin is board certified in Sports Medicine and has practiced for over 40 years. He has completed more than 40 marathons and was a talk show host of a nationally-syndicated radio program for about 25 years. For more articles by Dr. Mirkin, please check out: www.DrMirkin.com

(1) L Saxon, C Finch, S Bass.Sports participation, sports injuries and osteoarthritis - Implications for prevention.Sports Medicine, 1999, Vol 28, Iss 2, pp 123-135.