Losing Weight Achy Joints

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Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent painful joint conditions and obesity is now recognized as an important modifiable risk factor for osteoarthritis.

And with more than 71% of adults in the U.S. over the age of 20 having overweight or obesity, according to the CDC, it’s probably not a surprise that these weight-induced joint issues are so widespread. 

Daily Habits That Can Cause Joint Pain

So what’s happening to your body and what can you do to mitigate the risks? We talked to a few Cleveland Clinic experts to sort it out.

“Joints in your body’s lower half — particularly your knees and hips — bear most of your weight, ” says Robert Bolash, MD, a specialist in Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Pain Management. “That’s why years of carrying around excess weight contribute to achy, swollen, stiff joints.”

With osteoarthritis, the cartilage “cushion” within a joint degenerates. Bones then rub against each other, causing irritation, pain and swelling. The more weight on the joint, the more wear and tear on the cartilage.

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“Maintaining an ideal body weight is important, and if overweight, losing as little as 10 pounds can decrease the progression of your knee osteoarthritis by 50 percent, according to a published study, ” says rheumatologist Elaine Husni, MD, MPH, director of Cleveland Clinic’s Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Treatment Center. “This is clearly a modifiable risk factor.”

Studies consistently show that overweight people have higher rates of osteoarthritis than people who aren’t overweight. One study found that those who have obesity (with a body mass index [BMI] between 30 and 35) are four to five times more likely to get arthritis in their knees.

If you have weight-induced joint pain, losing pounds and taking stress off your joints may ease your symptoms. While your body can’t reverse arthritis or regrow cartilage, losing weight can help arthritic joints feel better and prevent further excess damage.

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The best way to lighten up? y eating and exercise, of course. Dr. Bolash recommends water exercises for those with joint pain. Swimming, water aerobics and walking laps in the pool are good options.

“In water, your body floats, and you take much of the weight off your joints so moving them doesn’t hurt as much, ” Dr. Bolash explains. “At the same time, water provides resistance that allows you to activate muscles without burdening your joints.”

Activity and mobility exercises are Dr. Bolash’s first line of treatment for patients with joint pain. If mobility is a challenge, he often directs patients to physical therapists who can advise on gait, proper footwear and how to prevent pain during movement.

Stiff Joints: Why They Happen And How To Get Rid Of Them

The best treatment for joint pain is stopping it before it starts. Protect your hips and knees for the long-term by lightening your load. If you need to lose a few pounds, get moving now before moving gets you.

It is also important to get the proper diagnosis because many other joint conditions can cause joint pain. These include autoimmune-related arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout or a septic joint.A key message for those suffering from osteoarthritis is that any small reduction in your body weight is likely to reduce your pain and improve your function, particularly in the knee joint. Being overweight is a significant risk factor for getting osteoarthritis in the first instance, contributing to just under 50 % of this risk in knee osteoarthritis. Other risk factors for knee osteoarthritis include injury or trauma to the knee joint (about 20 %) and occupational (seen more in manual workers).

It is probably easier to understand how excessive body weight affects our weight bearing joints such as the hip or knee due to the extra stress this places on our lower limb joints. It is true that for every extra kilogram of weight we carry does result in about 4-5 kg of additional load going through our knee joint. Losing weight then will reduce this load on your knees and lower limb.

Sore Joints: Causes And Risk Factors

What intuitively may not make sense is that obesity or excessive weight is associated even in osteoarthritis of non-weight-bearing joints such as the hand. One of the proposed reasons for the connection between hand osteoarthritis and our body weight is due to the relationship between adipose tissue and inflammation in your body.

(2) An anti-inflammatory effect- there is less inflammation or inflammatory markers circulating in your body that results in a reduction in your pain

A study done in 2013 by Messier [1] demonstrated the effect of weight loss on pain and function in knee osteoarthritis over an 18-month duration. It was found that even a small reduction in body weight resulted in significant pain reduction and improved function. It is generally recommended that people with osteoarthritis, particularly of the knee joint, aim to reduce their body weight by even as little as 5 %. This means if you are 100 kg, that even if you reduce your body weight by 5 kg, you should start to notice a reduction in pain.

Why Do My Knees Hurt When I Start Losing Weight?

There is a dose response to weight loss which simply means the more you lose, the greater the reduction in your pain levels. As a basic rule, a 5-10 % reduction in body weight should result in up to a 30-50 % reduction in your reported pain. Combining weight loss and exercise together is more effective and does result in higher reductions in pain and improved function. A recent study by Messier [2] has shown that weight loss also seems to play a role in improving the bio-mechanics around the knee joint and reducing compressive or loading forces around the joint.

Many osteoarthritis programs and surgeons now strive for significant weight loss prior to having any joint replacement surgery. There are numerous reasons for this, the main being that reducing your weight prior to surgery may mean you may decide not to require a joint replacement as your pain becomes manageable. It is important to remember that 80 % of people report being satisfied 12 months following a joint replacement, so it is important you try all conservative treatments such as weight loss and exercise prior to contemplating any surgery even if this is only for a brief period of time.

Losing weight and exercising the right way is never easy. It is important you do seek professional advice from a dietician as most peope who are overweight or obese do require special consideration about calorie intake and use of meal replacements such as shakes. Seeking professional advice and support from a physiotherapist about exercising for osteoarthritis is important as well. Programs such as GLA:D and PEAK are really good osteoarthritis management programs delivered by physiotherapists that consist of education, weight loss information for osteoarthritis and exercise.

How To Combat Joint Pain And Stiffness And What May Be Causing It In The First Place

[1] Messier SP, Mihalko SL, Legault C, et al. Effects of Intensive Diet and Exercise on Knee Joint Loads, Inflammation, and Clinical Outcomes Among Overweight and Obese Adults With Knee Osteoarthritis:The IDEA Randomized Clinical Trial.

[2] Messier SP, Beavers DP, Mihalko SL, et al. The effects of intensive dietary weight loss and exercise on gait in overweight and obese adults with knee osteoarthritis. The Intensive Diet and Exercise for Arthritis (IDEA) trial.J Biomechanics. 2020.It is seen that people who are overweight or obese encounter knee pain. For which losing weight can aid lessen pain and decrease the risk of osteoarthritis. Having extra weight gives excess stress to your knees. Which can end up giving chronic pain and other complexities. Being overweight connects to an increase in osteoarthritis pain. There are many Altrincham Manchester Chiropractors & Osteopaths that can guide & assist you.

Managing a healthful weight is important for your lifestyle. It decreases your risk of heart attack, diabetes, tumour, & many dangerous diseases.

Here's Why Losing Weight Is The Key To Losing Joint Pain

Not being overweight often meets less strain. People with osteoarthritis who lose weight through diet and workouts over the months have less knee pain.

Weight loss resembles improving bone function. The excellent outcomes come when working out and diet are involved together. Reducing the consumption of calories is necessary if you’re obese and have arthritis. For constant relief, you have to become dedicated to your lifetime by changing your lifestyle.

By decreasing fat deposits in the body, your body’s swelling will decrease. Obesity can start and nurture inflammation. Excess stress on the joints will induce inflammation. It may raise soreness levels in the body, which may lead to joint pain.

Strategies To Reduce Knee Pain

Studies say that Losing even a pound of weight appeared in 4 pounds of stress removed from the knees. In simple words, dropping 10 pounds would cure 40 pounds of weight on your knees.

Many researches have shown that being overweight lessens the possibility of obtaining minimal disease remission. An article stated that overweight people have lower odds of maintaining remission compared with other people.

Losing weight also aids you to get enough sleep. That is when you have arthritis, pain can conflict with your sleep time, and induce insomnia over the ages. When you lose unnecessary fat, then this problem is also tackled.

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Losing weight will aid you to manage healthy blood pressure or get back to a healthy