Knee pain might cause an unexpected and unpleasant cramp in your style at the most inconvenient times. When this critical joint hurts, affects your stride, and restricts your mobility, you are unable to participate in routine activities and sports.
Knee pain can be caused by a variety of factors, including chronic illnesses like arthritis and gout, as well as traumatic injuries such as torn cartilage, damaged ligaments, and strained muscles.
However, an often-overlooked cause of knee pain is obesity. Unfortunately, two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. If you've recently gained weight and are experiencing knee stiffness, the extra weight could be the cause.
The good news is that being overweight or obese is something you can do to improve not only your knee pain but also your general health.
Some facts about your knees
Your knees are intricate joints that perform a significant function. They have four basic components:
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Cartilage
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Ligaments, which connect your bones
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Tendons, which connect muscle to bone
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Bones: the femur (thighbone), tibia (shinbone), and patella (kneecap)
Your articular cartilage is slick and protects the ends of your thigh and shin bones. It helps your bones to move smoothly and serves as a shock absorber for your knee. Your two wedge-shaped portions of meniscal cartilage are stronger and serve to stabilize your knee.
The impact of extra pounds on your knees
When we say "impact," we mean both literally and symbolically. Weight increases stress on your knees, increasing symptoms other than pain, such as:
Not unexpectedly, these symptoms have a domino effect, making it difficult to move and execute everyday tasks such as ascending and descending stairs, cooking, gardening, and participating in sports.
Weight is bad for your knees because it stresses the cartilage that surrounds your bones. It may also raise the chemicals in your body that trigger joint inflammation. These two factors contribute to osteoarthritis, which causes the cartilage that protects your bones to degenerate.
Osteoarthritis causes your bones to rub together, exacerbating pain, edema, and stiffness. Excess weight can cause knee osteoarthritis. If you already have OA, a weight increase can make it worse.
A wise combination of dietary adjustments and increased exercise can help you lose unwanted weight. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, and replace red meat, bad fats, and overly processed foods with lean protein sources such as chicken or fish, legumes, and whole grains.
Try to increase your everyday workout. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week (a brisk walk, a good bike ride, and even yard work can qualify), or 75 minutes of intense activity per week. This isn't as much as it seems. For example, if you take the 150-minute moderate-level activity option, you'll only get 30 minutes of action five days a week.
Getting relief for your knee pain
Regardless of the magnitude, pain management doctors may offer an array of therapies for your knee pain. They will talk about your weight loss efforts and how they benefit joint health. They also may offer innovative therapies to bring relief:
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Stem cell therapy
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Pain medications
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Viscosupplementation treatment, an injection of hyaluronic acid
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Physical therapy to stretch your muscles and relieve nerve pressure
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Platelet-rich plasma therapy to harness your body’s healing powers
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Steroid injections to relieve your knee inflammation
Viscosupplementation benefits your knees because hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance in the lubricating synovial fluid that surrounds your joints. It allows your bones to move more freely and helps your knees bear the weight of your movements.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy and stem cell therapy are regenerative treatments in which we collect a blood sample from your arm, spin it to separate the platelets, and then inject the PRP into your knee. This concentration promotes spontaneous healing in the joints.