Using Weight Loss to Treat Knee Arthritis

There are many health conditions that can make moving about quite painful and knee arthritis is one of the worst that I am personally familiar with. In my family, almost all of the women over the age of 60 have knee arthritis to one extent or another. My mother has had it progress quite quickly and now strains when she walks up or down stairs. My grandmother is now almost completely debilitated by the disease and is unable to walk or stand without experiencing excruciating pain.

Losing weight will not treat knee arthritis, but it can help to reduce inflammation and pain associated with this disease.

After watching what my mother and grandmother have gone through, I am already starting to plan out the steps I need to take in my life to minimize or avoid knee arthritis in my later years. One of the positive steps I feel I am taking these days is losing weight. Although there are some that argue that weight loss cannot help with knee arthritis, it is also common sense that the less you weigh the less strain and stress you will put on your knee joints. For people who are already living with knee arthritis, losing weight may relieve some of the stress on placed on the knees and may help to alleviate some pain. There are also medications and supplements, such as glucosamine, that help knee arthritis and in some cases cortisone injections may bring some temporary relief, but also using weight loss to treat knee arthritis may be helpful.

Exercise earlier in life is not a cause of knee arthritis like some fear. Exercise is important for so many reasons, and one should never avoid it because they fear they are going to have arthritis later one, or that it might make it worse now. However, if you are suffering with knee arthritis and wish to exercise, talk with your doctor about exercises that are right for you and that take the pressure off of your knees (for some suggestions, please see the post “Best Low-Impact Exercise Machines for Cardio“. That way you can lose some weight, get your exercise, but you will not make your condition worse in the process.

The belief is that carrying around extra pounds throughout life can put strain on the knees that can prematurely wear away the cartilage that protects the joints. When that happens, arthritis sets in. Average weight adults have a 1 in 2 (50%) chance of developing arthritis while obese adults have a 3 in 4 (75%) chance. Thus, using weight loss to treat knee arthritis makes sense, at least as a preventative when you are younger. Losing weight by switching to a sensible diet and getting more exercise can get the pounds off, even if only little by little and that in turns takes some of the extra stress off of the knees and gives the cartilage a break from excessive wear and tear.

When dieting for help with knee arthritis, you have your choice of diet plans, but you should seek the advice of a doctor if you are not sure in which way you should go. There are many different diets that can have different effects on the body and help the body lose in different ways. Some people benefit from one diet more easily than they would from another type. Weight Loss Center offers some great suggestions for an Arthritis Diet. This diet focuses on eating foods that help to reduce inflammation in the joints. Recommended foods to avoid when following an arthritis diet are fat and oils and all animal products. Others suggest following an Elimination Diet to determine if your arthritis is connected to food allergies.

Other than helping with knee arthritis, weight loss will be of benefit to your overall health if you are overweight or obese. You may get some relief for your knee arthritis, but then again, you may not. However, that does not mean your diet was a waste of time. You may prevent further knee and joint damage, and there are other great health benefits to losing even just ten percent of your current body weight. It could help you avoid heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and a host of other deadly conditions.