![Senior man having his knee examined by a doctor.](https://i0.wp.com/newsdigest.ng/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Arthritis_Diagnose.jpg?resize=600%2C378&ssl=1)
Dr. Udoka Okafor, national president of the Association of Clinical and Academic Physiotherapists of Nigeria, has advised those with arthritis to exercise with caution because it may be harmful to their general health.
This was said by Udoka, a consultant ergonomics physiotherapist, on September 8, 2023, in honor of World Physiotherapy Day, which has as its theme “Arthritis and Forms of Inflammatory Arthritis.”
According to him, the day is an opportunity to educate people on the menace of arthritis and osteoarthritis and also the connection between arthritis and other diseases of civilisation.
The physiotherapist explained that arthritis is a degenerative change of any joint. Any change in the joint that would cause pain, swelling reduced range of motion of the joint is called arthritis.
Additionally, arthritis is broadly divided into two categories based on its etiology: degenerative (induced by aging) or inflammatory (caused by infection or other factors), which is characterized by swelling, tenderness, and pain in the affected joint).
He added, “We use the phrase ‘degenerative’ for arthritis, which refers to changes that have to do with getting older. Inflammatory arthritis mostly affects the smaller joints of the body and causes swelling, whereas it affects the bigger joints of the body, including the hip, shoulder, knee, neck, and joints of the lower back.
Speaking against the backdrop of the Day’s celebration, the physiotherapist warned that people living with arthritis should consult a physiotherapist to know the forms of exercises they could engage in, as certain exercises could worsen their health outcomes.
He declared, “There are particular workouts that are advised for someone with arthritis. There are some exercises that a person with arthritis should avoid.
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“An illustration is jogging. A patient who frequently jogs lands on their body weight, which has an effect on their knee joint. The hip, knee, and ankle joints are the body parts most frequently affected by osteoarthritis. As a result, every time you jog, you fall on those joints, and if those joints already have arthritis, you are further weakening them.
Owing to that, Udoka, who is also an associate professor at the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital, suggested that persons suffering from arthritis of the knee could engage in swimming, brisk walking, cycling, and aerobics.
“They are safer for a patient who presents with knee joints rather than subject them to jogging,” he explained.
“If society is educated on the menace of arthritis, it will help people modify their lifestyles because if we have an active lifestyle, it helps to reduce the impact of arthritis.
“That’s why we use this World Physiotherapy Day to emphasise arthritis and the role of physiotherapy in the management of arthritis. That’s what we do.”
Speaking further on this year’s theme, he advised parents not to ignore any joint swellings they notice in their children noting that children also suffer inflammatory arthritis.
“Inflammatory arthritis is common. It’s just that sometimes patients don’t present in the hospital when they have it. Sometimes, you’d just notice a child who has swollen joints and the parents will just say maybe the child has an injury but then the joint is persistently swollen, brittle and painful.
“Inflammatory arthritis is common but not many times they don’t present to the clinic except when there are changes like the patient’s running temperature or such things.”
“In this part of this world not many times present in the hospital just because of inflammatory arthritis.”
He urged parents to pay attention to their children and any change they notice in their joints and report to a nearby clinic promptly.