Pain, Mobility & Better Living

Raised Uric Acid: Does Everyone Need Medication? When a blood test says “high uric acid,” should you immediately start allopurinol? A routine health check shows uric acid 7.5 mg/dL . There is no joint pain, no swelling and no previous attack of gout. The immediate question often is: “Doctor, should I start medicine to bring it down?” Not necessarily. A raised serum uric acid level is not the same thing as having gout. Many people have hyperuricaemia without ever developing a gout attack . NICE specifically notes that while many people with gout have elevated serum urate, many people with hyperuricaemia do not have gout.  The decision to prescribe urate-lowering medication should therefore depend on the whole clinical picture—not just the number on the laboratory report. What is uric acid? Uric acid is produced when the body breaks down purines. Normally, it is dissolved in the blood and eliminated primarily through the kidneys. When uric acid remains elevated, monosodium urate crys...

Does Running Wear Out Your Knees? Running, jogging and knee osteoarthritis: separating myth from evidence For years, runners have heard a familiar warning: “If you keep running, you will damage your knees.” It sounds plausible. Running repeatedly loads the knee, and osteoarthritis (OA) involves changes in the joint, including cartilage and bone. So, does every step bring us closer to a knee replacement? The evidence does not support such a simple conclusion. For recreational runners, current evidence does not show that running itself inevitably causes knee osteoarthritis . In fact, several systematic reviews have found no higher prevalence of knee OA among runners compared with non-runners. However, the evidence is observational and has important limitations, so running should not be described as either universally harmful or universally protective. ( PubMed ) The Myth: “Running =Knee Wear and Tear” The knee is not a machine with a fixed number of steps. It is a living, adaptable biolo...