Together with hips and ankles, knees are the primary weight-bearing joints of our body which help us hold up for body weight and carry us when we move and indulge in all the physical activities.
The damage to these weight-bearing joints results in painful daily movements making knee arthritis one of the most debilitating medical conditions in the world.
Being a degenerative condition, knee arthritis progresses with age making it even more difficult as people age.
But do you know what makes the life of knee arthritis patient even more difficult and challenging?
It’s the excess weight.
Knee Arthritis & Excess Weight:
While the wear and tear of the aging slowly ravage the knee joint, the excess weight can accelerate the damage by putting additional stress on the knee. “One extra pound of weight will exert around 4 pounds of added stress on the damaged knee joint making it even difficult to perform daily activities” say knee specialists. This additional stress you put on our knees is detrimental both to your knee health and other body functions.
So does losing weight helps you improve your knee health? Absolutely! Here are 2 solid reasons why losing weight is a must for knee arthritis patients with excess weight:
Less pain, better function, and longevity:
The pain due to knee arthritis is caused by the knee’s inability to perform its functions bearing the normal body weight. So adding excess weight of fat impairs its ability, causing even more pain in the process. Loss of one pound of excess weight relieves the knee off 4-pound stress and pressure thereby decreasing the pain, improving its function and longevity. You may not even require a total knee replacement surgery if you can improve your knee health by maintaining the right weight.
Reduced Inflammation:
Excess weight that comes from fat is not the only thing that hurts the health of your knee joint. The fat is an active tissue that releases inflammatory chemicals which course throughout the body further increasing the arthritis symptoms. Patients with excess weight from fat, suffer an increased risk of joint pain and break than normal people with optimal weight. So maintain a healthy weight by decreasing the amount of fat in the body is the most efficient way to decrease the aging of your joints.
Weight-loss in older adults not only improves joint health but also gives a boost to all the bodily functions which is why even knee replacement surgeons recommend healthy weight-loss. But if the joint pains persist even though you have been maintaining a healthy weight, it is possible that there could be a different reason for your knee pain which can be easily solved with a careful diagnosis and treatment from an expert Orthopaedic Surgeon. Dr. Niraj Vora has helped thousands of patients suffering from knee pains and can help you too.