How weight affects your joints
Your knees and hips carry your body weight with every step, and the load through the knee when you walk is several times your weight. Climbing stairs or getting up from a chair adds more. Extra weight also changes posture and can add strain to the lower back.
Fat tissue is not just stored weight. It releases substances that can add to inflammation in the body, which may play a part in joint pain too.
What losing weight may do
For people with knee osteoarthritis and extra weight, losing weight is one of the steps recommended by arthritis specialists, and even a modest loss may help pain and daily function. Some people with hip or back pain also notice a difference. How much it helps varies from person to person, and it does not change damage that is already there.
Weight loss is usually one part of care, alongside things such as staying active in ways your joints tolerate and treating the source of the pain.
Pain can make weight loss harder
It is a hard cycle: pain makes it harder to stay active, and less activity makes weight harder to manage. Getting pain under better control can make it easier to move more. That is one reason we look at both together.
When to see a specialist
See a provider if joint or back pain lasts more than a few weeks, keeps coming back, wakes you at night or limits walking, work or sleep. Get medical care right away for a hot, red, swollen joint, especially with a fever, or for back pain with loss of bladder or bowel control or new leg weakness.
How our Frisco office can help
Our providers can evaluate the cause of your pain and talk with you about treatment options. If weight is part of the picture, a separate medical weight loss consultation can look at a supervised plan, including medicine when an evaluation shows it may be appropriate.
Read more about joint pain and arthritis care, hip and knee pain, back pain and medical weight loss in Frisco. To get started, book an appointment for pain, or call 214-618-9600.