Osteoarthritis is said to be a group of diseases and mechanical irregularities concerning degradation of joints, counting articular cartilage and the subchondral bone adjacent to it. A study claims that ‘progressive walking’ merged with glucosamine sulphate supplementation has apparently displayed enhancement in easing symptoms of osteoarthritis.
Scientists appeared to discover that patients who walked for at least two sessions of 1500 steps apiece on three days of the week supposedly accounted for considerably less arthritis pain, and notably seem to have enhanced physical function.
Dr Kristiann Heesch worked with a set of study authors from the University of Queensland, Australia, to perform the trial in around 36 osteoarthritis patients. Their ages varied from 42-73 years.
Every patient was supposedly given a nutritional supplement for roughly six weeks, following which they carried on taking the supplement during a 12-week progressive walking program. The program, known as, Stepping Out, encompasses a walking guide; a pedometer; weekly log sheets; and a weekly planner. Apparently, they were all designed to aid patients in implementing the exercise regime.
Approximately 17 patients were indiscriminately allocated to walk five days per week, while the rest of the 19 were asked to walk three days a week. The team discovered that both groups appeared to reach considerable enhancement in their symptoms. Nevertheless, being motivated to walk five days a week seemed to not be more effectual than being encouraged to walk three days.
Dr Heesch commented, “These findings are not surprising given that the three-day and five-day walking groups did not differ significantly in the mean number of days actually walked per week, the mean number of daily steps walked, nor their weekly minutes of physical activity. These findings provide preliminary evidence that osteoarthritis sufferers can benefit from a combination of glucosamine sulphate and walking 3000 steps per day for exercise, in bouts of at least 1500 steps each, on at least three days per week.â€
The study author mentions that this amount of walking is less than current physical activity recommendations for the general population, but follows the recommendations for people with arthritis.
The study was published in the journal Arthritis Research.