Knee pain & Increased Body Mass Index (BMI). Is it related to Obesity?
Overweight & Obesity is a major risk factor for knee pain/osteoarthritis.
Being a Physiotherapist, I come across many clients/patients saying – I am trying to loose weight, but can’t exercise because I have pain in my joint or my knee hurts. It is like a vicious cycle, if you are overweight, you will have knee pain. Obesity & knee pain are inter-related.
Knee joint is the weight bearing joint of our body. It helps in maximum load transmission of our body weight. Overweight causes increased load on the knee joint & causes breakdown of the joint cartilage, which leads to more wear & tear of the joint.
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To ease your knee pain, there are many options available, but the key to reduce the pain in the weight bearing joint – IS TO LOOSE WEIGHT.
Body mass Index is also another factor which is related to Obesity.
Body mass Index (BMI) which can be defined as the body mass to height ratio plays a very important role in measuring obesity. A BMI higher than 25 is considered overweight & over 30 is obese. Higher the BMI more likely the degenerative changes in the joint.
Degenerative changes leads to direct rubbing of the bones at the joint surface leading to knee pain. To reduce the BMI (body mass index), it is important to loose weight & thus optimize the proper joint biomechanics.
To conclude, there are many things we can do to facilitate safe & effective weight loss to reduce the load on the weight bearing joint & reduce the body mass index (BMI) of the joint. It can be done by
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1) Passive Exercise (machines – neuromuscular stimulator & electro muscular stimulators) especially with clients/patients who already have knee pain & can’t go to gym & exercise or cannot find time to exercise (active exercise).
2) Following the right kind of diet by reducing the calorie intake & eating the correct portion avoiding stress on the painful joint, under the guidance of Physiotherapist.
3) Participation in moderate physical activity avoiding stress on the painful joint, under the guidance of Physiotherapist.
So, break the vicious cycle of pain (knee joint pain) & obesity & work towards loosing weight & leading a healthy lifestyle. STAY FIT; STAY MOTIVATED….