HOW TO REDUCE YOUR RISK

■■Lose weight if you need to Excess weight is still one of the biggest risk factors for OA as it puts extra stress on your joints, which can speed up the deterioration of joint cartilage. Overweight and obese people are at higher risk of developing the condition and at an earlier age.

■■Exercise for 150 minutes per week Being active is one of the best ways to keep joints healthy in the first place. 150 minutes might sound like a lot but it’s only doing something moderately paced for half an hour, five days a week. You don’t have to join a gym or follow a workout plan to benefit. Walking, gardening, yoga, swimming and cycling are all great joint-boosters.

■■Control your blood sugar The latest research suggests that diabetes, which affects the body’s ability to regulate glucose (blood sugar), may be a significant risk factor for OA. That’s because high glucose levels speed the formation of certain molecules that make cartilage stiffer and more sensitive to excessive use and joint stress.

Diabetes can also trigger inflammation throughout the whole body, which has been linked to cartilage damage.

This relatively new discovery of a link between diabetes and joint damage helps explain why more than half of the people diagnosed with diabetes also have arthritis.

■■Get enough vitamin D A handful of studies have found higher rates of OA in people with low blood levels of this important bone-strengthening nutrient. Your body makes most of the vitamin D it needs in response to sunlight.

You can get some extra vitamin D in your diet by eating oily fish such as salmon and mackerel, but most people in the UK are low in this nutrient so the

Government now suggests people consider taking a supplement of 10mcg in the winter months. Try: Better You DLUX1000 (£6.95, from Betteryou.com).

■■Avoid injuries

Suffering a joint injury when you are young predisposes you to OA in the same joint when you are older. Injuring a joint as an adult may put the joint at even greater risk.

A long-term US study found that those who injured a knee as a teenager or twentysomething were three times more likely to develop OA in that knee than those who had never suffered an injury. If the knee was injured in adulthood, the risk of later arthritis increased fivefold.

■■Improve your posture

Bad posture puts a lot of pressure on your joints, causing wear and tear on your bones and cartilage — just as poor alignment in your car causes tyres to wear unevenly. So standing up straight now could save your knees and hips in the long run.

Yoga, pilates and a specific stretching programme called the Alexander Technique are all great ways to improve your posture.