Stepping Forward: A Scoping Review of Physical Activity in Osteoarthritis

Quantitative Evaluation of Knee Cartilage in Professional Martial Arts Athletes Using T2 Mapping: A Comparative Study

CONTEXT

Although the relationship between high-impact sports like football and basketball and the development of knee osteoarthritis is well established, the effect of martial arts on the knee joint remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the imaging abnormalities of knee joints and T2 relaxation times of cartilage in professional martial arts athletes and healthy controls.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Hospital imaging center.

PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS

Nine asymptomatic professional martial arts athletes and 18 healthy volunteers.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)

We performed 3T magnetic resonance imaging of the knee on both legs of athletes and the dominant leg of controls. The magnetic resonance imaging protocol included conventional sequences used for morphological assessment (cartilage, meniscus, ligaments, joint effusion, and bone marrow edema) and T2 mapping used for quantitatively evaluating the cartilage. Knee cartilage was manually divided into 8 regions, and T2 relaxation times of the corresponding subregions were measured. Fisher exact test and t test were used to compare the frequency of lesions and cartilage T2 values both between groups and between the athletes' limbs. P < .05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

Professional martial arts athletes exhibited significantly higher frequencies of cartilage (55.6% vs 11.1%, P = .023) and ligament lesions (66.7% vs 16.7%, P = .026) compared with the control group. Athletes showed higher T2 values in 3 distinct cartilage segments: the central weight-bearing segment of the medial femoral condyle (P = .006), the medial tibial plateau (P = .012), and the trochlea (P = .032), when compared with the controls. Additionally, the dominant leg of athletes showed significantly higher T2 values compared with the nondominant leg.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings demonstrated the impact of martial arts on the knee joint, characterized by higher prevalence of lesions and elevated cartilage T2 values, particularly in the medial compartment. The dominant legs of martial arts athletes seem to have higher risk of cartilage degeneration due to the observed interlimb differences in T2 values.

Association between cardiovascular health and all-cause mortality risk in patients with osteoarthritis

BACKGROUND

This study was to explore the relationship between cardiovascular health (CVH) and the risk of all-cause mortality in patients with osteoarthritis (OA).

METHODS

This cohort study retrieved the data of 3642 patients with OA aged ≥ 20 years from the 2007-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). CVH was evaluated based on Life's Essential 8 (LE8) includes diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, sleep health, body mass index, blood lipids, blood glucose, and blood pressure. The outcome of all-cause mortality was assessed using the death certificate records of participants from the National Death Index. Variables that might affect all-cause mortality were used as covariates. The weighted univariate COX proportional hazards model was used to explore the association between each covariate and all-cause mortality. The weighted univariate and multivariate COX proportional hazards models were used to explore the association between different CVH levels and all-cause mortality. A restricted cubic spline (RCS) curve was plotted to show the association between different CVH levels and all-cause mortality in OA patients. Hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated.

RESULTS

Findings show that people with moderate CVH (HR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.45-0.98) and high CVH (HR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.26-0.87) were associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality in patients with OA. The HR of all-cause mortality in patients with OA decreased by 0.12 as per 10 points increase of LE8 score (HR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.73-0.90). The RCS curve revealed that the HR of all-cause mortality decreased with the increase in LE8 score. The survival probability of patients in the high CVH group was higher than the moderate CVH group and low CVH group (p = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

Moderate-to-high CVH is associated with a decreased risk of all-cause mortality in patients with OA. These findings might provide a reference for the formulation of prognosis improvement strategies for the management of patients with OA.

Effects of self-monitoring using an accelerometer on physical activity of older people with long-term care insurance in Japan: a randomized controlled trial

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a self-monitoring intervention to promote an increase in physical activity, as measured by step count, and reduce sedentary behavior in older people covered by the long-term care insurance system (LTCI) in Japan.

METHODS

This was a randomized controlled trial conducted at a daycare center from October 2022 to January 2023. Fifty-two older adults with LTCI who were able to walk with or without aids were assigned to an intervention (n = 26) group and control (n = 26) group. During the 5-week follow-up period, the intervention group received education on physical activity and self-monitoring such as goal setting, self-management and feedback. The primary outcome was step count, and the secondary outcome was sedentary behavior.

RESULTS

Participants who completed the study to the end of the 5-week follow-up and drop-out participants for whom outcome data were available were included in the final analysis of 57 participants, n = 24 (79.8 ± 8.8 years, male 25.5%) in the intervention group and n = 23 (82.5 ± 8.5 years, male 39.1%) in the control group. Comparisons between the two groups at baseline showed no significant differences. In the results of a two-way mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) including 2 (group: control, intervention) × 2 (term: baseline, 5-week follow-up) factors, an interaction was observed in the number of steps, sedentary behavior, and light physical activity (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Self-monitoring of physical activity using an accelerometer may be effective in increasing the number of steps and light physical activity and in reducing sedentary behavior in older people with LTCI.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

UMIN000052044, registered on 2023/08/29.

The Critical Role of Physical Activity and Weight Management in Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis: A Narrative Review

Physical activity (PA) and weight management are critical components of an effective knee and hip osteoarthritis (OA) management plan, yet most people with OA remain insufficiently active and/or overweight. Clinicians and their care teams play an important role in educating patients with OA about PA and weight management, eliciting patient motivation to engage in these strategies, and referring patients to appropriate self-management interventions. The purpose of this review is to educate clinicians about the current public health and clinical OA guidelines for PA and weight management and highlight a variety of evidence-based self-management interventions available in community and clinical settings and online.

A Systematic Review of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Patterns in an Osteoarthritic Population

OBJECTIVE

To explore physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviors (SB) in individuals with lower limb (LL) Osteoarthritis (OA) and the influence of age, sex, and body mass index (BMI) on these behaviors.

DESIGN

Systematic review search: PubMed, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, and CINAHL databases were searched from inception until July 2023. Study criteria: Studies that reported quantifiable device-based or self-reported data for PA and SB variables in adults clinically diagnosed with LL OA were included.

DATA SYNTHESIS

A synthesis of PA and SB levels for those diagnosed with LL OA and the influence age, sex, and BMI have on these behaviors.

RESULTS

From the 1930 studies identified through the electronic search process, 48 met the inclusion criteria. PA guidelines were met by 33% of the sample population that measured moderate and moderate to vigorous PA. No studies reported 75 minutes per week or more of vigorous PA. Additionally, 58% of the population reporting SB were sedentary for 8 hours per day or more. Also, increasing age, BMI, and the female sex were identified as negative influences on PA levels. There were numerous methodological inconsistencies in how data were collected and reported, such as various activity monitor cut points for PA and SB bout duration.

CONCLUSION

Adults with LL OA may be at an increased risk of noncommunicable diseases due to low PA and high SB levels. It is important to consider age, sex, and BMI when investigating behavior patterns in those with LL OA.

Physical activity modifies the association of the composite dietary antioxidant index with all-cause mortality in the US osteoarthritis population

Background

It remains unclear how antioxidant intake affects all-cause mortality in osteoarthritis (OA) patients. In this prospective cohort study, we aim to explore the association of the Composite Dietary Antioxidant Index (CDAI) with all-cause mortality and investigate the interaction of physical activity (PA) and CDAI on all-cause mortality in OA populations.

Methods

A total of 3,197 adults with OA in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2001 to 2018 were included in this study. Death outcomes were obtained from National Death Index (NDI) records. Multivariable Cox regression analyses with cubic spines were applied to estimate the association of CDAI with all-cause mortality. The interaction between CDAI and PA on all-cause mortality was further assessed in stratified analysis and interaction tests.

Results

The hazard ratios for all-cause mortality were 0.95 (0.77-1.17) for Q2, 0.75 (0.59-0.97) for Q3, and 0.71 (0.55-0.92) for Q4 (P for trend <0.001), compared with the lowest quartile of CDAI. A negative linear association was found between CDAI and all-cause mortality. In the stratified analyses, CDAI was negatively associated with all-cause mortality in the insufficient PA group. While in the low and sufficient PA group, there were nonlinear relationships of CDAI with all-cause mortality.

Conclusion

A negative linear relationship was observed between CDAI and all-cause mortality in OA patients, and this association was significantly modified by PA. Higher intake of dietary antioxidants might be the interventional objective to reduce the risk of all-cause mortality in the US OA population.

Causal effect of physical activity and sedentary behaviors on the risk of osteoarthritis: a univariate and multivariate Mendelian randomization study

There is still a lot of ambiguity about the link between physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviors (SBs) and osteoarthritis (OA). This study aimed to investigate the causal relationship of PA/SBs on the risk of OA. A univariate and multivariate Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was conducted to investigate the causal effect of five PA phenotypes and three SB phenotypes on overall OA, knee OA, hip OA, total hip arthroplasty, and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). MR methods used were inverse-variance weighting, MR-Egger regressions, and weighted median. Sensitivity analysis examined horizontal pleiotropy and heterogeneity, and confirmed the reliability of the results. After false discovery rate, light do-it-yourself (DIY) activities decreased the risk for overall OA (OR: 0.32, 95% CI 0.16-0.65), and knee OA (OR: 0.26, 95% CI 0.12-0.51). Resulting in a decreased risk of walking for pleasure on overall OA (OR: 0.87, 95% CI 0.70-1.04) and knee OA (OR: 0.14, 95% CI 0.06-0.32) was also observed. Television viewing, however, significantly increased the risk of OA, knee OA, hip OA, and TKA. MVMR findings revealed independent causal impacts of walking for pleasure and watching television on overall and knee OA, taking into account BMI, smoking, and education. This study suggested that light DIY and walking for pleasure were beneficial for preventing OA, and the risk of OA and TKA increased with prolonged television watching.