Arthritis and aging seem to be synonymous right? Actually wrong! How can I make such a bold statement? Well two reasons;
- 7 years of suffering with Osteo-arthritic changes in my knees as an 18 year old, which are now trouble free at the age of 41!
- 20 years of clinical practice seeing so many suffering needlessly with Osteoarthritis.
So obviously not only did I have pain and suffering with arthritis at a ‘young’ age but 20+ years later I no longer have any problems. This makes blaming age rather difficult!
After treating many arthritis sufferers over the years it has been frustrating to see how often the arthritis is not the real problem behind their pain and stiffness.
Is there any relationship with Aging and Arthritis?
Well there is of course some correlation between age and osteoarthritis but really it is more math than any useful clinical relationship. Osteoarthritis is typically a disease that occurs from joints under stress that wear out and break down. So the longer someone has used their joints the more wear and tear can occur, especially if there are unchecked stresses.
So as a teenager I had subjected my knees to some severe stress which wasn’t corrected, hence the damage. But since correcting and removing the stress the problem disappeared.
If you are still not convinced that age isn’t the culprit then welcome to one of my favorite jokes:
“Mavis is an 85 year old was told that the arthritis in her right knee is due to her age. So then is her left knee much younger than her right knee (as she has no problem with her left knee)????”
It may be a joke but it does make you think about the logic behind the ‘age’ blame game. Furthermore Mavis may have no hip or spine arthritis but again it is all the same age!! So of you have been told that it is age and there is nothing that you can do to help. Please think again and look for solutions instead of dead end streets!