THE DOCTOR IS IN
OP / ED BY DR. ADIL MANZOOR
Do you have pain in your knees from arthritis? Well, you’re not alone, with the CDC reporting that 58.5 million other adults in the United States have the condition. While many are quite familiar with the struggles the condition brings, not many know that arthritis is not a life sentence of pain relievers.
There are ways to manage the condition to live a healthy life. Even better, you can prevent your knees from developing the condition altogether by making a simple body change – losing weight. Okay, maybe not so simple, but you can protect your knees from arthritis, so it’s worth the effort. To fully understand how and why this works, let’s consider what arthritis is in the first place.
Arthritis is a general term for disease conditions that usually occur due to friction within your joints. Normally, joints are made up of two or more bones and other structures like cartilage, ligaments, tendons, and in many cases, synovial membrane. The synovial membrane, which contains fluid, and the articular cartilage prevent the bones from rubbing against each other and causing friction that results in pain. The tendons and ligaments connect the bones to muscles and bones, respectively, and provide support to the joints.
When any of the joints in the body experience inflammation or a breakdown in the structures within it, arthritis arises. However, depending on the type and manner of the inflammation or degeneration, there are different types of arthritis. Some types of arthritis conditions include:
- Rheumatoid arthritis (an autoimmune condition that attacks the joints),
- Gout (a buildup of uric acid crystals in the body that affects the joints),
- Osteoarthritis (a wear and tear break arthritis characterized by the breakdown of cartilage within joints)
- Psoriatic arthritis (inflammation of the joints in a skin condition known as psoriasis),
- Fibromyalgia (a widespread condition that causes pain all over the body)
- Juvenile arthritis (an autoimmune attack on the joints in children and adolescents), etc.
The most common type of arthritis is osteoarthritis, also called degenerative arthritis. For you to move, some weight is transferred to your joints, particularly weight-bearing joints like the hip, knee, and ankle. When the weight carried by your joints is too much, it increases the pressure on them. In turn, the risk of inflammation or breakdown of the cartilage within the joints increases. This explains why obesity is one of the major risk factors for osteoarthritis.
Now, since the knee is one of the major joints involved in weight-bearing and many physical activities, it is more prone to being affected by excess weight. Research has shown that an excess weight of just 10 pounds can put 15 to 50 pounds of pressure on your knees. This means that the more excess weight you have, the more pressure you put on your knees. In other words, the more excess weight you have, the higher your chances of losing your knees to arthritis.
However, pressure is not the only way fat affects your knees. Studies have also shown that fat cells can release certain substances known as inflammatory agents into your body. These inflammatory agents attack your joints and lead to a breakdown of cartilage in your joints. The breakdown of the cartilage increases wear and tear between the bones in your joints, which can result in a lot of pain due to the friction generated by any movement.
Further, fat does not just increase the risk of developing arthritis; it worsens the disease progression and increases the risk for other complications.The effects of excess weight on your knees and your other joints can be scary, considering that losing weight is not easy.
There’s good news, though. You do not need to lose a lot of weight to begin to experience better outcomes in regard to your knees. According to the American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation, a weight loss of just about 5% can yield beneficial effects on knee function and treatment outcomes. However, recent research has shown that it might even be better to achieve a greater weight loss percentage, particularly 20% and above. Still, a weight loss of about 5% is a good starting point.
Since knee arthritis causes pain and limits movements in many cases, it might be difficult to lose weight with exercise. Yet, it is possible to exercise with all the pain. You can see a physiotherapist to determine the types of exercise advisable for you. What’s more, you can try exercising in water (swimming). Studies have shown that exercising in water helps to manage the pain caused by physical movement in arthritis. The exercises must be combined with a proper diet that does not deny you the necessary proteins and minerals for your bones but also supports your weight loss.
This article was written by Dr. Adil Manzoor DO, a Board-Certified Internist & Board Eligible Pediatrician, who works as a Hospitalist, and Emergency Room Physician. He is also the current President of Garden State Street Medicine, a non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to provide free preventive and acute urgent care services for the homeless. He is also the co-founder of his own unique medical practice Mobile Medicine NJ.
References
- https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/data_statistics/national-statistics.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/index.html
- https://www.healthline.com/health/osteoarthritis/knee-pain/link-between-weight-loss-and-knee-pain#how-weight-affects-knee-pain
- https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/about-arthritis/related-conditions/other-diseases/how-fat-affects-osteoarthritis
- https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/intensive-weight-loss-helps-knee-arthritis
