Too much weight! Easy to wear and tear the knee joints

Obesity is not only closely related to eating habits and lifestyle habits from childhood, but can also be passed on to the next generation. There is a large family with 5 people. Everyone's weight exceeds the standard, with a BMI value greater than 24, which means they are overweight. The members of this family don’t like to walk because they feel pain all over their body from their knees every time they exercise. However, they love to eat delicious food and cannot control their weight, which keeps increasing. But with the help of the medical team, the whole family lost more than 100 kilograms, and this year they are finally going to challenge the mountaineering sport that they never dared to try before.

Doctors remind that women in menopause, obesity, and advanced age are all at high risk of developing osteoarthritis.

Love to eat but still lose weight

We often hear people say "to live you have to move". The human body is actually very mysterious. Human joints are like parts in a machine and play an important role in the operation of the machine. When a machine is overloaded, it is prone to malfunction. The same is true for the human body. Once faced with obesity, old age or improper use, the joints will also be damaged.

Osteoarthritis, the most common disease seen in orthopedic clinics, is a disease caused by long-term damage to the cartilage in the joints, hyperplasia, and a decrease in synovial fluid. Women in menopause, obesity, and advanced age are all high-risk groups for osteoarthritis. Taiwan society is facing an increase in both the elderly and obese populations. When the two are combined, it will cause serious damage to the body's weight-bearing joints.

Studies have found that when the body mass index (BMI) is greater than 30, that is, the weight exceeds the load of the knees, the risk of suffering from degenerative knee arthritis increases.

BMI is key

In particular, according to research, when the body mass index (BMI) is greater than 30, that is, the weight exceeds the load of the knees, the risk of suffering from degenerative knee arthritis will increase. What are the symptoms of arthritis? It is common for weight-bearing joints (knees, hips, spine) to be restricted in movement, with increased pain after movement. In severe cases, joint effusion may occur, making it impossible to walk.

Generally, treatment starts with the safest and non-invasive method, with the goal of improving pain, increasing joint mobility and improving quality of life. The treatment methods currently used by the medical community are divided into drug treatment (using painkillers, steroid injections and hyaluronic acid) and non-drug treatment, but most of them can only relieve pain but cannot delay the progression of the disease.

Preventing osteoarthritis from getting worse

When the above treatments fail to improve symptoms, the patient will be referred to the orthopedic clinic to assess whether further examination and surgical treatment are needed. However, for obese people, maintaining proper exercise, physical therapy and weight loss can not only reduce the risk of disease, but even if arthritis has already occurred, weight loss can still improve symptoms and delay the progression of osteoarthritis.

Disease not only affects a person's health, but also indirectly affects the quality of life and the continuation of life. However, some diseases can be prevented, such as osteoarthritis. Even if you suffer from it, you can delay deterioration through your own efforts. Analysis has pointed out that losing 5% of your body weight can effectively improve symptoms, proving that weight loss can indeed reduce the occurrence of osteoarthritis.