Regular Intake of Grapes Lowers Pain Linked With Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis

Regular intake of grapes offers benefits for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis.

Researchers at the Texas Women's University claim that regular intake of grapes reduces pain linked with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis, which mostly occurs due to aging.

According to the Arthritis Foundation, more than 27 million people in the U.S. have osteoarthritis and knee is one of the most commonly affected areas. Women suffer more than men. This  causes swelling, stiffness, pain and disability to move.

Apart from reducing the pain, intake of grapes is also known to improve joint flexibility and overall mobility of the person. According to the researchers, it is the polyphenols present in the grapes that offers these potential benefits.

In a 16-week clinical study that aimed to examine the benefits of grape consumption on inflammation and osteoarthritis outcomes, the researchers focused on 72 men and women who reported suffering from knee osteoarthritis.  The subjects were either given grapes in the form of dried powder or a placebo powder.

Researchers noticed that the subjects consuming a diet rich in grapes reported a significant decline in self-reported pain related to activity. The positive effect was seen both in men and women. Overall, there was a fall in the total knee symptoms.

The positive effect was more evident in women when compared to men.  Apart from this, certain age related differences were also noticed as there was nearly 70 percent rise in very hard activity for those below 64 years of age taking grape powder and the ones taking placebo noticed a drop in hard activity.  Those above 64 irrespective of whether they consumed grape powder or placebo, noticed a drop in the moderate to difficult activities.

When compared to women, men taking diet rich in grapes noticed an increase in cartilage metabolism.  The level of cartilage growth factor was higher than those taking placebo.

"These findings provide promising data that links grape consumption to two very important outcomes for those living with knee osteoarthritis: reduced pain and improvements in joint flexibility," said lead investigator Dr. Shanil Juma, Ph.D.  "More research is needed to better understand the results of the serum biomarkers, as well as the age and gender differences observed."

This study was presented at the Experimental Biology Conference , San Diego.