If you have osteoarthritis of the knees, when it comes to physical activity it’s probably your common sense to not think that more is better. But it seems as though more may actually be better when it comes to arthritis.

With the pain and stiffness that arises from osteoarthritis of the joints in the legs, it’s not uncommon for people to start having problems over time with activities like climbing the stairs and getting up off your sofa. These are called functional limitations, because they stop us from functioning properly during our day and can affect our independence.

Researchers have found though that people with osteoarthritis who walk more than 1000 steps per day are less likely to develop these functional limitations, and those who walk more than 3000-6000 steps per day are even more better off. The more the better!

Walking is a cost free activity, you can even do it your garden! What’s even better is that for osteoarthritis, it doesn’t matter how slow or fast you walk, just as long as you put one foot in front of the other.

Faye Prior (Researcher)

Source

White et al., (2014). Daily walking and the risk of incident functional limitation in knee OA: An observational study. Arthritis Care & Research, DOI: 10.1002/acr.22362