Author: Chrisanne Sternal

Researchers at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics found that women with the strongest quadriceps muscles appeared to be protected against the development of knee osteoarthritis (OA).

Timothy Spaulding, a Top Health Blogger for the Arthritis Community on Well sphere  and author of the  Current Arthritis News and Research Blog  explains the study’s results:

“The team, led by Neil Segal, M.D., M.S., followed over 3,000 women and men over a 2 ½ year period in the Multicenter Knee Osteoarthritis Study (MOST). The participants were between the ages of 50 and 79 years.

The goal of the study was to determine whether knee extensor strength would be a predictor of radiographic OA or symptomatic OA. Radiographic osteoarthritis is OA that can be determined through X-ray. Symptomatic osteoarthritis is OA that is determined by symptoms of pain, stiffness and aching on most days of the month.

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