14 Million Osteoarthritis Doctor Visits Yearly Due to Knee Problems

Massage therapy helps with pain relief and flexibility in osteoarthritis. It can improve the range of motion and the function of the joint and help to improve range of motion and flexibility. Therapists are going to have a lot of opportunities to offer that relief.

Five not one, but five studies were presented at the 2011 American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) Annual meeting that had to do with obesity and the knee. They cited that more than 14 million visits were made to physicians’ offices in 2008 by patients with knee problems. One of the studies showed that if a client is obese it can cause problems with their knees. They also looked at how obesity affects a person’s potential of knee arthritis and the ability to recover from knee surgery. Another study found that there might be permanent damage to a knee even after surgery when a person has been morbidly obese. According to the AAOS press release for elderly men and women osteoarthritis is one of the five leading causes of disability. It ranks as high as cardiovascular disease now.

Osteoarthritis clients are going to increase in the client base of all massage therapists. By 2030, 25 million Americans, or 9.3 percent of the adult population are expected to experience activity limitations due to arthritis, according to a study published in the Arthritis & Rheumatism journal.

The news from these studies means that massage therapists can look to an ever increasing number of clients coming in with knee  conditions whether it be deteriorating physical health, depression and anxiety due to not being able to physically do what they were once capable of, and post surgery clients who are finding that surgery was not able to restore them fully to their pre injury health status. This means a significant increase in potential clients that are 50 years plus in age for osteoarthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia.

Our CenterPoint Minnesota massage school offers massage therapy classes. Call 952-562-5200 today to register.

Tags: bodywork classes MN, Continuing Education, knee relacement, Massage Classes Minneapolis, massage therapy schools Minnesota, oseoarthritis