Take action now & get on top of your joint pain
Ongoing knee or hip pain and discomfort should not be dismissed as an
inevitable part of getting older – you can take action and get back to
doing more of the things you enjoy.
General Osteoarthritis
Treatment
There are three interconnected objectives
for effective treatment of knee and hip
osteoarthritis. These are:
• reduce load and stress on the joints
• keep the joints moving
• relieve pain
Importantly, if you don’t address all three core
objectives then you may be putting up with
unnecessary pain and stiffness.
The reason such a dramatic improvement can
be achieved is because for every 1kg of extra
body weight a person carries there is around
a 4kg increase in the pressure that is put on
the knee joints.
Strengthening Lower Limb
Muscles
There are a number of different ways to reduce
the load and stress on your joints, the 2 most
important ways are:
• weight loss
• strengthening lower limb muscles.
Weight Loss
When the average person with osteoarthritis
who is 10 to 15 kg overweight loses just 6
to 7 kg* they can experience a life changing
improvement in the joint pain and stiffness that
they experience each day.
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There is good evidence that, among people
with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee, light to
moderate intensity physical exercise (with
prior approval from their GP) improves muscle
strength, joint range of motion and physical
fitness. All of these improvements contribute
to improved physical functioning and pain
reduction.
Relieving Pain
So even losing 5kg would feel like taking the
equivalent of a 20kg bag of cement off the
knee joint which will obviously make a huge
improvement to sore joints!
Reducing Loads on Joints
the joint which will actually make the joint
even more painful over time.
The lower limb muscles play an important
role in cushioning and stabilising knee and hip
joints during weight-bearing activities such as
walking. For example when the thigh muscles
are strong and working effectively they act as
‘shock absorbers’ that reduce the strain on
knee joints.
Keeping the Joints Moving
With good pain control you can enjoy the
simple things in life that people without
constant pain take for granted. Every day
activities such as walking, sleeping, travel,
shopping, bowls or even golf should be
enjoyed without persistent pain.
The best osteoarthritis pain management plan
is multi layered. It includes:
• areful and planned use of prescription and
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over-the-counter medication.
• Reducing the load and stress on joints.
• Keeping the joints moving.
• Non-medicated pain relief strategies.
(*6.1kg weight loss equates to 7.5% of body weight
for a woman of average height and BMI of 30, 7.2kg
weight loss equates to 7.5% for a man of average
height and BMI of 30)
BMI = body weight (kg) ÷ [(height in metres) x
(height in metres)]
The Program
The Integrated Osteoarthritis
Management™ program is a specialised
knee and hip arthritis disease management
program that carefully integrates:
• eight loss and improved nutrition –
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reduces the physical load placed on joints
and improves the metabolic profile
• uscle strengthening – helps stabilise
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joints and improve joint function
•and based and range of motion
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exercises – reduces joint stiffness and
improves function
• ain management strategies –
p
medicated and non-medication strategies
• ducation – builds understanding
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and helps implement the integrated
osteoarthritis interventions
• onitoring and engagement
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strategies – helps instil individual
accountability, boost motivation and
maximise clinical impact of the program.
By implementing these interventions, the
Program aims to achieve reduced joint
pain, stiffness and swelling to help:
•mprove functions of daily living – for
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example, going up and down stairs,
getting in and out of a car, putting on
socks / stockings, going shopping etc.
• where relevant) improve fitness for
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joint replacement surgery and enhance
preparation for post surgery rehabilitation.
The Program is run by the Healthy Weight
For Life™ Team on behalf of Bupa. For
eligible members there is no charge at
all (ie. over $745 worth of products,
service and support, provided for free).
Many people with osteoarthritis tend to avoid
using their painful joints for fear of making
their pain worse. Unfortunately, when we
don’t use our muscles they actually become
weaker and less able to support and cushion
Visit www.HealthyWeightForLife.com.au and click on the Osteoarthritis (OA) Program button.
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