For adults aged 50 and older with knee osteoarthritis (OA), walking for exercise is linked with a reduced likelihood of new frequent knee pain and medial joint space narrowing, according to a study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology. Grace H. Lo, MD, and colleagues examined a nested cohort of participants with knee OA enrolled in a community-based observational study from 2004-2006, to assess the association between walking for exercise and symptomatic and structural progression. They focused on four dichotomous outcomes: new frequent knee pain, Kellgren-Lawrence grade worsening, medial joint space narrowing, and improved frequent knee pain. The 73% of 1,212 participants who walked for exercise had a reduced likelihood of new frequent knee pain and medial joint space narrowing (OR [95% CI], 0.6 [0.4-0.8] and 0.8 [0.6-1.0], respectively). “Beyond a benefit in symptoms for [OA], the findings from our study also suggest that walking may provide a structural benefit for a large portion of the community with [OA],” wrote Dr. Lo and colleagues.
