The findings contradicted earlier data from elite weightlifters showing a high risk of osteoarthritis.
By Ian McMahan
May 20, 2024 at 5:30 a.m. EDT
People with a history of strength training were 23 percent less likely to have symptomatic knee arthritis than those who didn’t engage in the activity, according to a recent study.
According to the researchers, who are based at a variety of universities, the finding suggests “that strength training is associated with better knee health.” They hypothesize that strength training might stave off osteoarthritis via improved biomechanics, a reduced risk of injury, better weight maintenance, and improved or preserved mobility.
The research, published in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatology, included 2,607 participants from the Osteoarthritis Initiative, a multi-center study that enrolled individuals from 2004 to 2006.
To determine exposure to strength training and other activities, the participants completed the Historical Physical Activity Survey questionnaire at their eight-year follow-up visit.
In the questionnaire, participants were asked to think about leisure physical activities, including strength or weight training, that they performed for at least 20 minutes within a given day, at least 10 times at different ages. For each, the participants were asked to provide more detail about the number of years, months per year and times per month they engaged in their top three activities.
Only those who selected strength training as a top three activity were classified as participating in strength training. X-rays of the subjects’ knees, used to determine objective evidence of osteoarthritis, along with an assessment of recent knee pain, were taken at four-year follow-up visits.
To qualify for a diagnosis of symptomatic osteoarthritis, participants were required to have findings in both areas, at least one knee with X-ray evidence of osteoarthritis and frequent knee pain. It also appeared that those who participated in strength training more often had less pain and X-ray evidence of osteoarthritis, with those in the highest participation group showing the strongest relationship.
What’s also important, said the study’s lead author, Grace Lo, chief of rheumatology at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, is that the finding contradicted earlier research on the topic, based on elite weightlifters showing a high risk of osteoarthritis. “Strength training has been shown to have many beneficial effects on health and longevity,” she said, “so it’s important to establish that the activity is safe and may actually lower the risk of osteoarthritis.”
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