HHS HealthBeat (April 03, 2009)

Arthritis, Knees and Quads

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Mayo Clinic and Boston University researchers say people with knee osteoarthritis seem to have less pain and less cartilage loss if they have stronger quadriceps muscles. Those are muscles that run along the front part of the thigh.

They found this by imaging knees by MRI and measuring knee strength in 265 people with knee osteoarthritis, who also reported their history of pain.

The Mayo’s Shreyasee Amin:

[Shreyasee Amin speaks] "Strong quadriceps muscles are actually beneficial for knees, because they seem to be associated with less pain and better function – and also that we have less cartilage loss behind the kneecap."

The researchers caution, though, that more study is needed to tell which quad strengthening exercises are best.

The study in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: April, 06 2009