How Exercise Can Help with Arthritis

When it comes to knee pain, this is something I can relate to and know a little bit about.

I've torn both my ACLs and had both surgically reconstructed.

Thankfully both surgeons did great repairs and I was on top of my rehab to be able to return to full sport and activity.

More recently there are some people who suffer from knee pain and use CBD products to cope and manage their symptoms. But this option never appealed to me because:

* When inhaled, there are potential negative side effects from the smoke

* I didn't want this to impact my memory, judgement or motor abilities

* I would rather seek out natural solutions

But a recent study shows it may be possible to experience the benefits similar to CBD without having to smoke a joint or eat a gummie.

Researchers at the University of Nottingham wanted to see the relationship between the endocannabinoid (EC) system and the gut biome in modulating markers of inflammation. The EC system plays a role in metabolism, pain management, inflammation and neural communication. ECs are responsible for the positive feelings associated with exercise such a a 'runners high'

In this study 78 subjects were split into 2 groups of 38 (the experimental group) and 40 (the control group). All subjects were adult women with knee osteoarthritis. Over the course of the 6 weeks the experimental group performed 15 minutes of daily strength exercise for the 6 weeks. The control group did no exercise.

What they found is that:

* 6 weeks of exercise reduced markers of inflammation

* this was associated with higher endocannabinoid levels and short chain fatty acids

* it appears the short chain fatty acids interact with the endocannabinoids to product anti-inflammatory effects

Only the group that performed the exercise saw an improvement (about 1/3rd) in endocannabinoid and short chain fatty acid levels. The control, non-exercising group, saw no change.

So why does this matter?

Well, this was a novel study on inflammation, the gut biome and endocannabinoids that didn't involve nutrition. The experimental and control group differed only in the 15 minutes of exercise performed daily.

For those that have osteo-arthritis this is encouraging and another strategy to manage arthritis including:

* age

* tabacco and alcohol

* stress

* prescriptions, drugs, anti-biotics

* level of fitness or activity

Reference

Vijay, A., Kouraki, A., Gohir, S., Turnbull, J., Kelly, A., Chapman, V., & Valdes, A. M. (2021). The anti-inflammatory effect of bacterial short chain fatty acids is partially mediated by endocannabinoids. Gut Microbes, 13(1), 1997559.