Join Me in DC!

Woo hoo! The traveling went well today, and the weather is gorgeous -- sun and 70 on this mid-November day. And how nice to be in Washington DC on Veteran's Day. I went straight from the airport to the Convention Center and picked up a big batch of press releases. The embargo lifted about an hour ago, so I can start giving you details.

You know how for years doctors said osteoarthritis was due to "wear and tear" from living life? The joint was thought to wear out due to a build-up of life experience (i.e., age) -- cumulative effects of use, if you will. OA even earned the nickname of "wear-and-tear arthritis." But in the past few years, the wear and tear label started falling away, and researchers began leaning toward a possible genetic component to OA. On Monday, two researchers from King's College in London will present results from their study that prove your genes play a large role in whether you develop OA, as well as how it progresses. In the press release, one of the researchers says, "Without question, the propensity towards knee radiographic osteoarthritis, as well as the angle of the knees, has a direct link to genetics, at least in females."

The shape, length and strength of bones is determined genetically, so it makes sense that the way the bones of the thigh and shin align to form the knee joint is determined by genes, too. And if the bones align incorrectly, they wear incorrectly, so maybe "wear and tear" isn't a notion that will be gone forever. Instead, now we know of important factors that lead to the wear and tear.

Another study relating to improper wear will be presented tomorrow afternoon. That one, led by Dr. Joanne Jordan, from the University of North Carolina's Thurston Arthritis Research Center, shows that just a slight difference in leg lengths – as little as 2 centimeters (or just under one inch) – is related to knee and hip OA. Interestingly, a difference in leg length, regardless of which leg was longer or shorter, meant an increase in OA of the right hip and more severe disease. I'll see Dr. Jordan at a press conference on Monday, and I'll ask if she can shed more light on her results.

Good news, though! If you do happen to have knee OA, whether from genes, lots of birthdays or a discrepancy in the length of your legs, there is something you can do for it. A study that will be presented on Wednesday shows that strengthening the quadricep muscles – the ones on the front of your thigh - does not damage the knee but rather helps prevent the cartilage behind the knee cap from deteriorating. This study was led by Shreyassee Amin, MD, of the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Amin's research has been funded by the Arthritis Foundation for the past several years. She says that strengthening the quadriceps muscle makes sense because the strong muscles would keep the knee cap from shifting abnormally.

I have to say that I'm living proof of that theory. My rheumatologist, Theresa Lawrence-Ford, MD, recommended I do leg lifts to help reduce symptoms. I have been doing them for several months now (along with walking more) and my knee pain has stopped. Next step -- weight loss! And there's some news about that, too. Results from a long-term study that will be presented on Tuesday show that a healthy loss of 15 pounds in 16 weeks decreased the discomfort of knee OA. The better the people in the study began to feel – that is, their quality of life improved – the more comfortable they became with moving and the more motivated they became to keep up their weight loss efforts. So once you get going, you want to keep going – it's the getting going that's tough!

Well, there are many, many more good studies to talk about, but now I'm motivated to exercise. I'm going to head to the hotel fitness room for a while before I get to bed. I'll be up early to head to the Washington Convention Center so I can bring you more news from ACR. Check back throughout the day tomorrow!