If you’re overweight or suffer from obesity, weight loss can be one of the most powerful strategies you can use for overcoming knee pain. Just as a healthy body weight can reduce the risk of certain conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers, it can also help certain medications work better and reduce pain in certain conditions such as arthritis.
There are two primary reasons that weight loss can help with knee pain. Those are:
By considering these two factors, it becomes clear that the relationship between joint discomfort and weight loss is a solid one, if your body isn’t within its ideal healthy zone. Let’s take a closer look at those two factors and why they’re an important reason to discuss your body weight with your doctor if you’re suffering from this type of joint discomfort.
A study published in the Arthritis & Rheumatism journal showed that adults who were overweight and obese and who had knee osteoarthritis (OA) found that losing even one pound of weight loss led to four pounds of pressure reduction on the knees. This means that if you lose 10 pounds, you’ll take about 40 pounds of pressure off your knees. That figure helps to provide a much clearer illustration of just how much of an impact your weight loss can have on your knee pain.
Body fat is a form of active tissue. It produces and releases pro-inflammatory chemicals. The more of it there is, the more will be produced. By burning excess fat stores in the body, the outcome is a reduction in inflammation throughout the body. Research published in the Autoimmunity Reviews journal showed how obesity can lead to the activation and sustainment of low-grade inflammation throughout the body.
Inflammation can increase and worsen autoimmune disorders such as psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and conditions linked to those diseases, such as heart disease. By focusing on body mass to reduce inflammation, knee pain levels can also fall.
It’s all well and good to say that weight loss helps knee pain, but this doesn’t make it any easier. It’s important to keep up physical activity that will be easy on the joint, such as swimming. That said, the primary factor will be diet and caloric intake. Therefore, speak with your doctor for a strategy that will be best for your nutrition and wellness requirements.