Research says golfers with knee osteoarthritis who prefer carts will do better, walking
If you are a golf enthusiast, with a knee niggle, keep off the golf cart.
New research suggests golf carts may be the primary culprit in knee steoarthritis in golfers.
From presidents to retirees, more than 17 million people over the age of 50 golf regularly. Knee osteoarthritis, which causes swelling, pain and difficulty moving the joint, is one of the leading causes of disability in this age group.
Researchers from the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and Northwestern Medicine found, for the first time, that walking the course provides significant health benefits. It is not associated with increased pain, cartilage breakdown or inflammation.
This study is the first comparing the health benefits of walking the golf course versus using a cart
This study is the first comparing the health benefits of walking the golf course versus using a cart. The findings were presented at the Osteoarthritis Research Society International Annual Meeting in Liverpool, England.
The health benefits of golf have decreased as the number of people who ride the course has increased over the past 20 years. In the late 1980s, 45 percent of all rounds of golf were played with a golf cart. By 2006, 69 percent of rounds were played with a cart. During this same time period, activity has decreased among Americans, while obesity has increased.
“Individuals with knee osteoarthritis are often concerned about pain and may be more likely to use a golf cart,” said lead study author Dr. Prakash Jayabalan, a physician scientist at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and an assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
“However, through sophisticated blood-based biomarker analysis, this study has shown that golfers with knee osteoarthritis do not need to be concerned about worsening their disease through walking the course. In fact, walking provides the best health benefit,” Jayabalan said.
