Most arthritis that affects the knee is osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease caused by the gradual loss of the smooth covering at the ends of bones, called cartilage. The amount of cartilage loss with arthritis can be minor or involve almost total loss of this protective material that keeps your knee joints healthy.
In some cases, the cartilage damage can be so profound that the bones inside the joint rub against each other. Age, genetics, and obesity are major risk factors for knee osteoarthritis, but repetitive mechanical stress can also speed up the progression of osteoarthritis.
Physical activity is a must for preventing muscle atrophy and reducing joint stiffness. Movement helps lubricate and nourish the knee joint and strengthens the muscles that support it. But repetitive movements may be a problem, as they apply repetitive pressure to the knee joints. One question you might have is whether stair climbing is harmful to your joints and whether it increases the risk of knee arthritis.
Stair Climbing and Joint Health
Have you ever used a stair-climbing machine at a gym or at home? It’ll get your heart rate up quickly, but what does it do to your joints over time? When you walk on a flat surface, you place some stress on your knee joints because your joints must support your upper body. The amount is related to your body weight. That’s one reason obese and overweight people have a higher risk of knee osteoarthritis. They exert more force on their knee joints.
Extra body weight pushes down harder on your knee joints with each step. But when you walk up a hill or climb stairs, the load on your knees increases by 8 to 10 times. It’s not hard to imagine how this could speed up degeneration if you’re prone to osteoarthritis.
Someone with healthy knees without a genetic predisposition to osteoarthritis may climb stairs or use a stair climber without any problems. But if you already have knee osteoarthritis or a strong family history of it, the repetitive motion of stair climbing may be problematic. It’s clear that you place more force on your joints when you climb stairs or walk up an incline, and it’s magnified if you’re overweight.
What about Going Down a Flight of Stairs?
You might think climbing up a flight of stairs creates the most stress on your joints but going downstairs does too. If you already have joint damage in your knees from osteoarthritis, your knees are more unstable when you step down from stair to stair. The instability creates shearing stress on the ligaments and cartilage, which could accelerate joint degeneration or trigger pain. Therefore, going up or downstairs can be hard on your knees and could accelerate cartilage damage.
So, putting added stress by going up and down stairs on knee joints that are already unstable isn’t a wise move if you value the health of your knees. There are safer ways to get a workout, and there are workouts that are more knee-friendly than stair climbing. You may have to walk up or down stairs in daily life but hopping on a stair climber isn’t a smart way to work out if you have knee arthritis. Stair climbers place repetitive stress on your joints, especially if you use it often.
You Still Need Physical Activity
Physical activity is a must, even if you have osteoarthritis. Movement helps lubricate your knee joints and builds your quadriceps, the main muscles in the front of your thighs that stabilize your knees. If you already have knee arthritis, low-impact workouts offer a joint-friendly way to get a workout without further damaging your knees.
For cardiovascular exercise, walking, cycling, and swimming are forms of exercise most doctors recommend to people with arthritic knees. You also need strength training to build stronger quads. If you have painful or severe arthritis, a few sessions with a physical therapist may be helpful to get off on the right foot. It’s important to do all strength-training exercises using proper form to avoid placing added stress on your knees.
Pain When Climbing Stairs is an Early Sign of Knee Arthritis
Could your knees be telling you something? According to a study published in Arthritis Care and Research, pain when climbing stairs may be the first sign of osteoarthritis. They came to this conclusion after studying 4,673 people who had osteoarthritis or were at high risk for it. In these subjects, knee pain while climbing stairs was the earliest sign. This was followed by pain when walking. Then pain when standing, lying, or sitting, in that order. So, knee discomfort when climbing stairs could be an early warning sign of knee joint degeneration. Listen to your body!
The Bottom Line
It’s not conclusively proven that climbing stairs repetitively increases the risk of joint degeneration and knee osteoarthritis, but there are better forms of exercise if you have arthritic knees or have a family history of it. These are exercises that place less stress on your knee joints.
Strength training and low-impact cardio are easier on your knees and offer benefits too. Stair climbing strengthens your quads, which is beneficial, since strong quads stabilize your knees. But there are strength-training exercises that do the same thing. Using a stair climber is also a repetitive motion on your knee joints.
Stay active even if you have arthritis in your knees. Physical activity increases lubrication and nutrient delivery to your joints and too little activity is harmful but be judicious with the type of exercise you do. Treat your knees kindly, so they’ll serve you well and so you can get around comfortably as you age. Healthy knees matter!
References:
- Elizabeth M. A. Hensor, Bright Dube, Sarah R. Kingsbury, Alan Tennant, Philip G. Conaghan. Toward a Clinical Definition of Early Osteoarthritis: Onset of Patient-Reported Knee Pain Begins on Stairs. Data From the Osteoarthritis Initiative. Arthritis Care & Research, 2015; 67 (1): 40 DOI: 10.1002/acr.22418.
- “Knee joint moments during stair climbing of patients with ….” 01 Jun. 2004, sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268003304000439.
- “Stair Climbing and Osteoarthritis • Johns Hopkins ….” 18 Aug. 2011, https://www.hopkinsarthritis.org/ask-the-expert/stair-climbing-and-osteoarthritis/.
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