Bhaichung Bhutia shares info on his battle against osteoarthritis

World Arthritis Day would be observed today. The athlete advised young arthritis patients (30-55 years age) to take effective steps towards early diagnosis and to explore treatment options such as viscosupplementation with their specialists

On the eve of World Arthritis Day 2014, Bhaichung Bhutia, former captain of India’s football team, was in the city on Friday to raise awareness on knee osteoarthritis. The initiative by Sanofi encourages patients with osteoarthritis to spruce up their lives by following three important steps. The steps include talking to a specialist to know the right treatment option, controlling body weight as losing 5 kilograms reduces risk of knee osteoarthritis by more than 50 per cent and exercising as walking 6,000 steps daily reduces the risk of functional limitations associated with knee arthritis

Sharing his experience, Bhaichung Bhutia stated, “As part of Sanofi’s ‘Steps that Count’ initiative, I am here to share my story and the significance of timely intervention to deal with knee osteoarthritis, which is an extremely painful condition. I needed a solution that would help me maintain my active lifestyle, and am grateful to my doctor for suggesting viscosupplementation with Synvisc One. This simple treatment has today enabled me to live well with knee osteoarthritis and to continue to do things I enjoy-- foremost among them being playing football.”

According to Karthik Pingle, consultant orthopedic surgeon, Apollo Jubilee Hills, “After diabetes, osteoarthritis is considered the second most prevalent disease in the age group of 30-55 years. Of all the joints, osteoarthritis of the knee joint is the most common. A number of factors such as sedentary lifestyle, rising obesity and poor dietary habits contribute to high prevalence of knee osteoarthritis.”

Knee osteoarthritis is now striking people at a younger age and leading to chronic disability and compromised quality of life.

Dr Senthilnathan Mohanasundaram, director - medical affairs, Sanofi India, stated, “With over 15 million patients, India has the second largest osteoarthritis patient base-women forming a large portion of this population. Bhaichung’s testimonial and experience with viscosupplementation will motivate patients to explore treatment options with their specialists and lead an active and better quality life.”

Depending upon the grade of knee osteoarthritis, treatment options include a combination of exercise, a healthy diet, painkillers, viscosupplementation injections as well as surgical procedures to relieve pain and restore function.

Dr Sachin Yadav, orthopedics and sports medicine consultant, Skyline Hospital and Ayushman Hospital, Delhi, who is also Bhaichung Bhutia’s treating physician, shared, “I have found viscosupplementation to be an effective option for young active individuals such as Bhaichung Bhutia as it enables them to maintain their active lifestyles. This is supported by the recently published OASIS (Osteoarthritis Synvisc One Indian Post Marketing Study) which concluded that viscosupplementation with Synvisc One was effective in reducing knee pain in an osteoarthritis patient with a significant long-term (1 year) improvement of outcomes.”