CHICAGO, Ill. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Osteoarthritis affects 27-million
Americans. It costs the U.S. economy nearly 128-billion dollars every year in
medical care, lost wages and productivity. Right now, the only real cure is a
joint replacement. Doctors are trying to change that by making a change in the
way patients walk. One woman is feeling the difference in every step.
It was looking like that might be Dana Glock's only option after suffering for
years from osteoarthritis. Injections, anti-inflammatory drugs, creams and knee
braces all failed. She joined a study not for a new drug or surgery, but to heal
her osteoarthritis by changing the way she walks.
"We're really hoping to make subtle changes in alignment of the lower limb,“
Laura Thorp, Ph.D., of Rush University Medical Center, told Ivanhoe.
It starts with a set of exercises that focus on the hip muscles. 15 minutes a
day over four weeks slowly changed the way Glock distributes weight when she
walks. The exercises help straighten her hips. The idea is to relieve the load
on the knees.
"By retraining muscles through these exercises, it's sort of an unconscious
retraining of gait,“ Thorp explained.
Doctor Thorp measures Glock 's progress in a motion lab.
In a study, patients saw the load on their knees decrease by 10-percent after
one month. This used to be one of Glock 's biggest fears.
"Now, when I'm walking, it's totally different,“ Glock said.
It is a new stride and new confidence, no surgery needed.
Doctor Thorp says the routine isn't a replacement for surgery, but she hopes it
can be an intervention that can delay the need for an operation. Once her study
is complete, she hopes to publish exercise guidelines for those on the road to
joint replacements.
For More Information, Contact:
Laura E. Thorp, M.P.T., Ph.D.
Rush University Medical Center
Chicago, IL
Laura_Thorp@rush.edu
