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Objective. To study the effects of a long-term (1-year) program of running exercise (up to 40 kdday) on the thickness and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content of articular cartilage in the knee and humeral head cartilage of young dogs.Methods. Samples for histologic analysis were obtained from 12 different locations of the joints. We conducted a detailed, area-specific analysis, measuring the thickness of articular cartilage and analyzing the distribution of Safranin 0 stain that binds stoichiometrically to GAG as determined by quantitative microspectrophotometry .Results. Running exercise decreased the GAG content of the uncalcified articular cartilage in the weight-bearing summits of the femoral condyles by 5 4 3 % (P < 0.05), while at margins of these areas the GAG content was equivalent to control levels. In the lateral condyle of the femur, the reduction was most prominent in the superficial zone (up to 28% decrease; P < 0.05), and extended into the intermediate zone (11% decrease; P < 0.05). GAG content was also significantly reduced in the superficial zone at the lateral condyle of the tibia and the head of the humerus, by 35% (P < 0.01) and 15% (P < 0.05), respectively.Running did not alter GAG concentration in the patellofemoral region.Conclusion. The GAG depletion caused by 40-k d d a y running exercise is restricted to prominent weight-bearing areas of the joint and begins from the superficial cartilage without signs of degeneration. The different degree and type of joint loading can explain the site-dependent cartilage response to long-distance running. The loss of GAGS was possibly due to breakdown of proteoglycans, which could not be compensated for by neosynthesis of molecules. With time, this may affect the condition of articular cartilage, especially if the joint is exposed to loading for lengthy periods.

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Long‐distance running causes site‐dependent decrease of cartilage glycosaminoglycan content in the knee joints of beagle dogs

Arokoski

Kiviranta

Jurvelin

et al. 1993

Arthritis & Rheumatism

125

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Knee osteoarthritis in former runners, soccer players, weight lifters, and shooters

Kujala¹,

Kettunen

Paananen³

et al. 1995

Arthritis & Rheumatism

Self Cite

391

320

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OLLI IMPIVAARA, TAP10 VIDEMAN, and SEPPO SARNA Objective. To determine the relationship between different physical loading conditions and findings of knee osteoarthritis (OA).Methods. We selected 117 male former top-level athletes (age range 45-68 years) who had participated in sports activities with distinctly different loading conditions: 28 had been long-distance runners, 31 soccer players, 29 weight lifters, and 29 shooters. Histories of lifetime occupational and athletic knee loading, knee injuries, and knee symptoms were obtained, and subjects were examined clinically and radiographically for knee findings of OA.Results. The prevalence of tibiofemoral or patellofemoral OA based on radiographic examination was 3% in shooters, 29% in soccer players, 31% in weight lifters, and 14% in runners (P = 0.016 between groups).Soccer players had the highest prevalence of tibiofemoral OA (26%), and weight lifters had the highest prevalence of patellofemoral OA (28%). Subjects with radiographically documented knee OA had more symptoms, clinical findings, and functional limitations than did subjects without knee OA. By stepwise logistic regression analysis, the risk for having knee OA was increased in subjects with previous knee injuries (odds ratio [OR] 4.73), high body mass index at the age of 20 (OR 1.76/unit of increasing body mass index), previous

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