Arthritis pain and farming often go hand in hand

    Arthritis is a debilitating disease that afflicts some 54 million citizens in the United States. This disease does not discriminate across age, gender or race. Farmers are among the afflicted.  
    Being a farmer is a massive job where you need your body to be flexible and in minimal pain to farm effectively. Unfortunately, farmers are at a higher risk for arthritis, according to the Arthritis Foundation.
    Osteoarthritis is the arthritis that most commonly affects farmers and ranchers. This is when the cartilage  — the gliding surface of a joint — is destroyed. Then, the joint rubs bone on bone, creating bony overgrowths called “spurs.”  
    Osteoarthritis is a hereditary disease. Being overweight can cause this as well. How? According to the Arthritis Foundation, every pound you gain adds 4 pounds of additional stress to your knees. Worst of all, this translates to six times the pressure on your hips.
    As with gardeners, farmers do frequent heavy lifting and repetitive motions, such as constantly bending and kneeling. The average age of our farmers in the United States is 58 years. If those farmers have been bending and kneeling for 30 or 40 of those years, it sets the stage for arthritis.

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