Talking to Mumbai Mirror, the actress recalled the time when she was shooting for Anees Bazmee's No Entry. "I was quite overweight and used to cover myself intelligently so that I didn't end up looking fat.

I realised I needed to shed weight," she revealed. In a tearing hurry to get into shape, Bipasha started running.

..

on roads, the treadmill..

. without help from a professional trainer.

"I had no knowledge about health and fitness and even went on crash diets. Suddenly, I started getting excruciating pain in my knees, with days when I could barely stand.

I spoke to Hrithik Roshan , Shah Rukh Khan and many other colleagues, who recommended some top doctors," the actress said. She was advised to undergo a MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and the reports made her go numb with shock.

"They said I was suffering from an extreme condition. My knees had become like that of a 65-year-old person," she remembered.

Even more shocking was learning that her condition was extremely rare in youngsters. It made her wonder, "Why did I get it? Where do I go from here?" One of the doctors told her she wouldn't be able to do any action sequences or even stand for long hours.

Another medico advised her bed rest. "I wept for three days and nights at a stretch.

My parents were out and I just didn't know what was happening," revealed Bips. On the fourth day though, the actress gathered all her courage and told herself, "It can't be this way, I need to fight it out.

You live life only once, don't you?" That was only the beginning of Bipasha's struggles. She spoke to Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh , both fitness freaks.

She started reading, buying all sorts of books, surfing the internet for information. It was then that she met sports physiotherapist Himakshi Basu, who assured her she would be able to do most of the things sooner or later except that patience was key.

The first ultimatum Himakshi gave Bipasha was to lose weight, especially around her knees. "I got into weight training.

Importantly, I was told to strengthen my thigh and butt muscles to maintain the correct balance so as to offset the weak knees," Bipasha revealed. There are things she has been advised not to do like wearing heels or walking down stairs.

She has also been asked to do twenty minutes in the gym before starting her other workouts. And while the condition is definitely better than what it was say two or three years ago, Bipasha rues the fact that she is still living with osteoarthritis.

"I am still under therapy and will always be..

. throughout my life.

However now, I do it myself." The good news is that Bipasha, who is looking forward to her next release Jodi Breakers has come out a winner from her experience.

"When you have such a condition, it ends up making you very strong mentally. I feel physically strong too.

I can kick like a footballer ," she laughed. By her own admission, the actress is taking Glucosamine Chondrotin supplements to counter further cartilage damage.

"You realise that being beautiful and sexy is not all that matters. Rather, you need to respect the body you are born with," she said.

What experts say Osteoarthritis is a disorder, mainly caused due to wear and tear of the joint muscles. Also known as Degenerative Joint Disease, Osteoarthritis involves degradation of the articular cartilage and subchondral bone.

"The condition is manageable in the initial stages. If one follows the physical exercise and diet regime," said Dr Ameet Pispati, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon attached to Jaslok and Bhatia hospital.

Commonly seen in elderly patients, experts say that the trend has shifted to the younger generation due to excessive activities. "Physiotherapy helps in mobility of the affected muscles," said physiotherapist Dr Ali Irani, who has been treating celebrities including Shah Rukh Khan.

- Jyoti Shelar (less)