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A study completed recently offers some interesting insight into the benefits of exercise on people with degenerative arthritis.  The old notion that arthritis pain is probably a result of excessive weight which causes premature wear on the joints is true, but not the whole story.  We’ve known for a long time that losing weight has tremendous benefits and significantly reduces knee osteoarthritis.  For every one pound of weight that you lose, it is the equivalent of 4 pounds of pressure removed from each knee.

Here’s the neat part.  Recent research at Duke University set out to study this a little more and found that even in people who lost little or no weight, there was a significant improvement in the symptoms of painful arthritis.  It appears that exercise has an anti-inflammatory effect which even in the presence of obesity can do wonders for your arthritis. So, if you start an exercise program which you can handle, even with a little bit of discomfort, there’s a good chance that it will improve your arthritis pain in the long haul.  Start slow, be regular and prepare for less pain–That’s the exercise secret to reducing arthritis pain!