Obesity puts you at risk for a long list of serious diseases, including type of 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It also increases the risk of knee pain, arthritis and other musculoskeletal disorders of the knee and hip. Weight-related problems with bones, muscles and joints are so common that, according to Harvard University, 33 percent of all joint replacement surgeries are performed on obese people.
The close relationship between weight and knee pain is clear. Excess weight puts pressure on weight-bearing joints in the hips, knees, and spine. The more stress your joints endure, the faster they wear out and the more damage they do. All of this leads to debilitating pain that limits your ability to stand or move freely and comfortably.
Read more: Get to know other types of obesity diseases
The effect of weight on knee pain
Even if being overweight isn’t the cause of your knee pain, carrying extra fat can make your knee problems worse. The load on the knee joints is four times your body weight. So, if you weigh 80 kilos, your knees will support 320 kilos of force when standing or walking. This pressure can be increased by activities such as climbing stairs, climbing hills, or squatting to pick something up off the floor.
Losing weight can go a long way in relieving knee pain. That’s why losing even 5 kilos can visibly improve your condition. Being 5 kilos lighter means 20 kilos off your knees.
Considering that knee pain limits people’s activities, here we teach you methods so that you can use them to lose weight.
Losing weight with knee pain
water sports: Whether you work with a therapist or on your own, the best way to start losing weight with knee pain is to be active in a way that doesn’t put pressure on your knees so you need to choose sports that take the pressure off your feet. One of the best sports, which has a great effect on weight loss, is swimming. Swimming is an aerobic exercise that can help you lose weight a lot, and the good thing about it is that you don’t use your knees while doing this exercise, so your knee pain won’t get worse.
Even if you can’t swim for some reason, try walking on water. When you walk in water, the stress on your knee is much less than when you walk outside, but you’re still expending energy.
When you have continued exercising in the water for a while and your weight has decreased a little and your muscles have become stronger, you can start other sports such as walking or treadmill.
Increase your activity
Try to avoid sitting still and stay active as much as possible. If you work at a desk, get up every half hour and take a walk. You can also try exercises that involve your upper body.
reduce consumption of sweets
In order to lose weight, you need to reduce the intake of sweets, chocolate and fast food. Try to use a small piece of sweets or chocolate only once a week and minimize your consumption of outside food. Reducing the consumption of sweets and outside food will help you to control your weight.
Eat only as much as you feel full
Try to eat only enough food to fill you up. Get more of it off your plate. This is especially true for bread and rice. Eat only enough bread and rice that you are not hungry and avoid consuming larger amounts.
Use salad and vegetables with food
One of the things you can do to control appetite and lose weight with knee pain is to eat salad and vegetables with food. These foods are full of fiber and help you feel full.
Fix your bad temperament
In Iranian traditional medicine normally, obese people are considered to have problems with their temperament in this case it is necessary to seek help from a traditional Iranian medicine specialist or nutritionist familiar with traditional medicine. However, in general, it is necessary to avoid foods that are called “cold and sticky” in Iranian medicine as much as possible and replace them with what they call “warm foods”. For example, consuming a small amount of rice and ground sesame seeds at breakfast can help you lose weight (in Iranian medicine rice and ground sesame seeds is considered foods with “warm temperament”)
Get help from a nutritionist
Although all we discussed above can help you lose weight but if you want to continue this work in principle, you need to consult a nutritionist and bariatric surgeon. A meal plan that suits you can help you lose weight a lot. After all, the support of a health care provider can help you stay motivated and stick with your diet for longer. The nutritionist may prescribe different types of supplements according to your conditions or refer you to a specialist doctor for further examination.
Bariatric surgery
In severe obesity and if you have certain diseases along with obesity, it is recommended to choose bariatric surgery to reduce your weight. For this, it is necessary to visit a specialist doctor or slimming clinics. The type of surgery is determined by the doctor, but usually a part of your stomach is removed and the intestine is attached to the remaining part. Gastrectomy is a final and important way to lose weight in obese patients who cannot lose weight in a normal way or are at risk.
With operations such as gastric sleeve operation and gastric bypass operation, you can lose weight in the shortest period of time and without any complications.
Conclusion
Knee pain can be caused by obesity or aggravated by obesity. On the other hand, weight loss can play an effective role in improving knee pain. However, losing weight can be quite difficult for people suffering from this condition. The solutions presented in this article, such as exercising in water, getting help from a nutritionist, changing your temperament (Iranian traditional medicine), adjusting your diet, and finally surgery can help you lose weight without putting pressure on your knees and finally remove the extra burden from your knees. Every kilogram you lose takes 4 kilograms of pressure off your knee.
