Walk 6,000 steps a day to stave off knee osteoarthritis

Walking 6,000 or more steps a day may protect those with or at risk of knee of osteoarthritis from developing mobility issues, experts suggest in Arthritis Care & Research.
Knee osteoarthritis is said to be the leading cause of functional limitation among older adults, making walking and climbing stairs difficult. Around 80% of people with osteoarthritis have some limitation in movement and 11% need help with their personal care.
“Our study examines if more walking equates with better functioning, and if so, how much daily walking is needed to minimize risk of developing problems with mobility in people with knee osteoarthritis,” explains author Dr Daniel White.
So Dr White and his team measured daily steps taken by 1,788 people with or at risk for knee osteoarthritis. Walking was measured with a monitor for seven days and functional limitation evaluated two years later.
Walking an additional 1,000 steps each was associated with between a 16% to 18% reduction in functional limitation two years later – so the more people walked, the more mobile they became. Those who walked less than 6,000 steps a day were more likely to develop functional problems.
“Walking is an inexpensive activity and despite the common popular goal of walking 10,000 steps per day, our study finds only 6,000 steps are necessary to realize benefits,” says Dr White. “We encourage those with or at risk of knee osteoarthritis to walk at least 3,000 or more steps each day, and ultimately progress to 6,000 steps daily to minimize the risk of developing difficulty with mobility.”