Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » Study Shows High Physical Activity Helps People with Osteoarthritis Walk Faster
Uncategorized

Study Shows High Physical Activity Helps People with Osteoarthritis Walk Faster

By medwebJan 19, 2011
Share
Facebook Twitter Email

Study Shows High Physical Activity Helps People
with Osteoarthritis Walk Faster

When a traffic light at a busy intersection flashes the WALK sign, people with knee osteoarthritis worry they can’t walk fast enough to make it across the street in time. New Northwestern Medicine research shows people with this common arthritis are more likely to walk fast enough if they lead physically active lives.

“The more active people are, the faster they can walk,” said Dorothy Dunlop, PhD, associate professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and lead author of the study. “This is strong evidence that even a small increase in activity is related to better walking function. The bar for improvement isn’t that high. This should motivate people to get moving, even if they have pain or stiffness.”

The study is published in the January issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Knee osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability in adults. As it progresses, it can threaten an individual’s ability to live independently. Maintaining function and independent living is an important goal for the more than 27 million U.S. adults with osteoarthritis.

“This study provides encouragement for people who are on the low end of the physical activity spectrum to increase their physical activity,” said Dunlop, a health services researcher who also is with the Institute for Healthcare Studies at Feinberg. “You don’t have to be in the top physical activity group before you start to see improvements in your walking speed.”

Physical activity produces big benefits for people with knee osteoarthritis. In addition to improving the ability to walk, physical activity also promotes healthy joint cartilage and reduces pain, depression, and fatigue, Dunlop noted.

Federal guidelines recommend adults with arthritis should participate in at least 2.5 hours a week of moderate intensity, low-impact activity in sessions lasting 10 minutes or more. Even if people can’t meet these levels, Dunlop said they should be as physically active as possible.

The Osteoarthritis Initiative, an observational study, surveyed 2,500 participants with knee osteoarthritis. Participants filled out self-reported questionnaires about their physical activity at sites in Columbus, Ohio, Baltimore, Md., Providence, R.I., and Pittsburgh, Pa.

Researchers divided participants into four physical activity groups, from lowest to highest, using a general activity score. In the lowest physical activity group, less than half, or 49 percent, walked fast enough to cross the street before the light changed. (Traffic lights generally allow a walking speed of four feet per second.) In the next three higher physical activity groups, 63 percent, 71 percent and 81 percent, respectively, walked fast enough to cross the street.

The study was sponsored by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

Members of the media, please contact Marla Paul via e-mail or at (312) 503-8928 for more information about this story.

Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

Lurie Cancer Center Receives Merit Extension from NCI

Oct 20, 2021

Drug Combination May Reduce Risk of Leukemia Relapse

Mar 26, 2020

Rewriting the Role of a Transcription Factor

Mar 19, 2020

Comments are closed.

Latest News

Sex-Specific Mechanisms for Major Depressive Disorder Identified in Response to Dysregulated Stress Hormones

Mar 23, 2023

Pre-Surgery Immunotherapy May Increase Survival in Advanced Melanoma

Mar 23, 2023

Hormone Therapy Plus Current Treatments Improves Survival in Prostate Cancer

Mar 22, 2023

How ChatGPT Has, and Will Continue to, Transform Scientific Research

Mar 21, 2023

New Directions for HIV Treatment

Mar 21, 2023
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
20230317_NM651
20230317_NM610
20230317_NM569
20230317_NM537
20230317_NM331
20230317_NM323
20230317_NM316
20230317_NM336
20230317_NM626
20230317_NM662
20230317_NM655
20230317_NM642

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2023 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.