Not all bodies are built alike and that is certainly true of men and women. That’s why joint injuries can happen to women if they're not careful with their exercise routines.
Exercise is good for you, no question about it.
But the experts say, women have to be careful about the kind of exercise they do.
"One of the most common things I see is problems with the knee cap with women. They tend to have wider hips and more, they're a little more knock-kneed than they are bow-legged and so they're doing exercises at the gym that are made for men,” said orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Linda Rasmussen.
Dr. Rasmussen has another word of caution for women when it comes to exercise.
"The other thing they need to avoid is the knee extensions where you sit down and then you extend your knees. Those type of exercises put a lot of force on the kneecap and then women with kneecaps that ride to the outside, that can be pretty stressful and wear away the cartilage that they do have,” she said.
And you don't want that.
But wearing away cartilage is not the primary cause of arthritis.
"Most of the time it's genetic. People like to blame their work or different factors, but most of the time, it's genetic. If I get a mother and I'm replacing her knees, normally I'm replacing the daughter to follow,” she said.
There are, of course, other causes of arthritis including joint injuries, especially those injuries associated with sports.
So how do women go about preventing arthritis?
"Keeping your weight under control is very important, but staying active is probably the most important thing but activities that don’t stress the joint out too much. Running, long-distance running - if you have any pre-disposition to arthritis you should probably - - paddling, swimming, biking,” she said.
The doctor says those kinds of activities are less stressful on the joints and less likely to cause the early onset of arthritis.
