Brisk Walks May Help Arthritic Knees

A new study presented at the American College of Rheumatology's annual meeting suggests brisk walks could help people who suffer from knee arthritis, reports HealthDay News . The researchers found older adults with arthritic knees who added five minutes of moderate-to-high intensity walking a day could make their odds of knee replacement surgery fall by 16 percent. The team analyzed data from more than 1,800 older adults with knee arthritis who wore portable devices that monitored their walking intensities for at least four days. They used the data on participants' walking habits to study the effects of substituting "non-walking" time with time spent walking at different intensities. Six percent of participants underwent total knee replacement surgery over the next five years. Although University of Minnesota's Paul Sufka notes the findings do not prove brisk walking directly reduces the risk of knee replacement surgery, he acknowledges it "gives us some useful information to bring to the discussion." Research generally suggests it is better for people with knee arthritis to be active.