Knee pain is one of the most common health complications among Obese people. If such people keep’s ignoring their knee pain & do not take precautionary steps they may end up with Osteoarthritis. In extreme cases a total knee replacement might be the only treatment option for knee pain. If you are under the impression that there aren’t that many obese people in our country, well we have news for you. India has the 3rd highest no of obese people in the world, Yes you heard that right!
Overweight people have a higher chance of Knee pain and injury in the long run, which in extreme cases might even need knee replacement. Hence, below we have listed a few simple initiatives that overweight people can undertake to avoid damaging their knee joints.
- Lose Weight: OK! That might sound obvious but here’s why losing weight is important. A recent study suggested that for every 1 Kg of weight loss, there is approximately 4‐kg reduction in knee‐joint load per step. Which implies that the lesser the load on your knee’s the longer they are expected to last and less chance of pain later on in life. This is even more important for people do no exercise what so ever or who have weak muscles. There are ample ways to reduces weight, just follow the one that works and get started …
- Strengthen Leg Muscles: knee pain generally occur when the supporting muscle’s are not strong enough bear the body weight. This weaking in muscles causes the load to be shared by the bones and their joint structure. The function of the cartilages between the joints is to have a friction-less movement between the joints. They are not meant to manage any load. So when they are burdened with sharing the extra load they tend to get damaged. This increases the friction between the joints and the pain begins. So If you are not in the mood to reduce your weight that’s fine just do some knee strengthening exercises couple a times a week and you should be fine. Of-course you can contact us we can advise you on how to get started.
- Walk NOT Jog/Run: Obese people in their haste to lose weight often tend start jogging straight off with the hope of burning more calories. This dramatically increases the load on their knees and in the long run end up with weaker knees. It’s important to start slow like a brisk walk… then gradually level up to mild jogging. This helps build your leg muscle which support & save the knee joint from taking all the load.
- Do low impact exercises: For Overweight people the best way to start losing weight without damaging their knees is to start with low impact exercises. Low-impact exercises include swimming, cycling, walking, etc… These exercises are the best way to improve build-up leg muscle, which in turn help reduce load and strain on the knee joints.
- Use a Knee Brace: If an obese person is already suffering from recurrent knee pain the best support one can give to his knees is a Knee Brace. A knee brace unloads the stress from the affected Knee joints and refers the pressure to the thigh, creating better mobility in the knee joint. Not to mention alleviate pain to a certain extent. If the pain still persists its important to consult an orthopaedic.
