How Is Body Alignment a Factor in Osteoarthritis?

The primary cause of osteoarthritis is improper body alignment, says Louis G. Pack, DPM, Author of The Arthritis Revolution. In this video, he compares the wear and tear of osteoarthritis to improper tire balance on a car.

Transcript

00:00

Patients often ask why, if osteoarthritis is primarily due to age, does just my left knee

00:07

hurt or my right knee hurt, because the other one isn't any younger. And that's a very important question,

00:14

and it's very important that you understand that it opens up the whole thinking about this disease. A longer leg or a flattened foot,

00:22

that increased friction on the joint. Just think about the tires on your car. If they're not optimally aligned,

00:29

they're going to wear irregularly and prematurely. In our average lifetime, we walk four times around the surface of the earth.

00:35

The more optimally you're aligned, the less your joints are likely to wear out.