The influence of long-term exposure and timing of physical activity on new joint pain and stiffness in mid-age women

Abstract

In mid-age women, PA between the ages 47 and 58 was associated with a lower risk of joint pain/stiffness 9 years later. Associations were stronger for PA in the last 6 years than for earlier PA.

Osteoarthritis year in review 2015: clinical

“…In middle-aged women in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, physical activity between 47 and 58 years of age was associated with lower risk of joint pain and stiffness nine years later (1). A qualitative study in Canada characterized consequences of symptoms on physical activity in persons with self-reported knee OA or symptoms (2).…”

Physical activity and osteoarthritis – considerations at the population and clinical level

“…The study utilizes life-course modeling techniques to compare whether the effect of physical activity is cumulative with the various midlife age periods that were examined contributing equal importance vs whether physical activity in certain periods is more important than others or whether physical activity in one particular mid-life period is critical in relation to reporting joint pain or stiffness later in life. Associations were found between lower odds of selfreported non-specified joint pain or stiffness in women aged 56e64 with higher levels of self-reported physical activity between the age of 47 and 58, with activity from ages 52e58 appearing more important than at ages 47e52 6 . Although the study has clearly defined limitations in terms of the outcome (reporting non-specified joint pain or stiffness rather than a diagnosis of OA), the physical activity measure (assessing self-report of activities occurring over only the previous week), and generalizability (only women were in the study), it underscores the need for more research exploring the role of physical activity in the prevention or delay of the onset of arthritis.…”

“…Physical activity is a highly recommended public health and clinical management intervention for secondary and tertiary prevention of osteoarthritis (OA) 1e5 . However, in terms of the value or harm of physical activity for the primary prevention or delay of onset of OA, there are few studies and the findings to date are somewhat conflicting 6 . That said, OA does not develop in a silo.…”

“…The article by Peeters and colleagues 6 published in this issue of the journal stimulates numerous interesting questions regarding leisure time physical activity and its association with the onset of OA: Is a person more or less likely to get OA if they participate in leisure-time physical activity in middle age? Does a person's participation in physical activity during their late 40s and early 50s compared with participation during their mid to late 50s make a difference in whether or not they have OA at a later point in life?…”

“…Peeters et al 6 report findings from a longitudinal study examining the influence of timing and amount of self-reported walking and moderate and/or vigorous leisure-time activities with the report of non-specified joint pain or stiffness in mid-age Australian women 6 . The study utilizes life-course modeling techniques to compare whether the effect of physical activity is cumulative with the various midlife age periods that were examined contributing equal importance vs whether physical activity in certain periods is more important than others or whether physical activity in one particular mid-life period is critical in relation to reporting joint pain or stiffness later in life.…”