Extra body weight we carry can cause extra wear and tear on our knees. Weight loss alone will not make knee pain go away, but it may help you delay or avoid surgery for knee arthritis.
If you need knee-replacement surgery at some point, losing weight beforehand will make your surgery safer and your recovery easier.
Losing and regaining weight is a frustrating cycle that many people repeat over and over again.
Look at your eating habits to figure out what your patterns are. Ask yourself:
A few tips to prevent overeating are:
Along with eating less, you may need to learn to eat healthier foods:
Eating a balanced diet means you consume the right types and amounts of foods and drinks to keep your body healthy.
Focus on making one change at a time. Pick a behavior you are strongly motivated to change.
Every day, find something in your diet you can change. For example:
If you eat well most of the time, do not beat yourself up if you slip up some. And if you do gain some weight, go easy on yourself. Think about what you will do if you slip up. How will you get back on track?
The healthiest way to lose weight is slowly and steadily. Develop healthy eating habits you can stick with over time. Look at managing your weight as a long-term process.
Know that it takes time to make and maintain changes in your lifestyle.
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons clinical practice guideline on treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. 2nd ed. Rosemont (IL): American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS); 2013 May 18.
Bannuru RR, Schmid CH, Kent DM, Vaysbrot EE, Wong JB, McAlindon TE. Comparative effectiveness of pharmacologic interventions for knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Ann Intern Med. 2015;162(1):46-54. PMID: 25560713 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25560713.
Bennell KL, Buchbinder R, Hinman RS. Physical therapies in the management of osteoarthritis: current state of the evidence. Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2015;27(3):304-311. PMID: 25775185 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25775185.
Crenshaw AH. Soft tissue procedures and corrective osteotomies about the knee. In: Azar FM, Beatty JH, Canale ST, eds. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 13th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2017:chap 9.
Duivenvoorden T, Brouwer RW, van Raaij TM, Verhagen AP, Verhaar JA, Bierma-Zeinstra SM. Braces and orthoses for treating osteoarthritis of the knee. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;3:CD004020. PMID: 25773267 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25773267.
Fransen M, Agaliotis M, Nairn L, et al; LEGS study collaborative group. Glucosamine and chondroitin for knee osteoarthritis: a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluating single and combination regimens. AnnRheum Dis. 2015;74(5):851-8. PMID: 24395557 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24395557.
Groen VA, van de Graaf VA, Scholtes VA, Sprague S, van Wagensveld BA, Poolman RW. Effects of bariatric surgery for knee complaints in (morbidly) obese adult patients: a systematic review. Obes Rev. 2015;16(2):161-170. PMID: 25487972 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25487972.
Hochberg MC, Altman RD, April KT, et al. American College of Rheumatology 2012 recommendations for the use of nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic therapies in osteoarthritis of the hand, hip, and knee. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2012;64(4):465-474. PMID: 22563589 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22563589.
Lieberman JR, Engstrom SM, Solovyova O, Au C, Grady JJ. Is intra-articular hyaluronic acid effective in treating osteoarthritis of the hip joint? J Arthroplasty. 2015;30(3):507-511. PMID: 25542833 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25542833.
Malagelada F, Vega J, Golano P, Beynnon B, Ertem F. Knee anatomy and biomechanics of the knee. In: Miller MD, Thompson SR, eds. DeLee and Drez’s Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2015:chap 91.
Mascioli AA. Arthrodesis the knee. In: Azar FM, Beatty JH, Canale ST, eds. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 13th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2017:chap 8.
Mihalko WM. Arthroplasty of the knee. In: Azar FM, Beatty JH, Canale ST, eds. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 13th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2017:chap 7.
Moyer RF, Birmingham TB, Bryant DM, Giffin JR, Marriott KA, Leitch KM. Valgus bracing for knee osteoarthritis: a meta-analysis of randomized trials. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2015;67(4):493-501. PMID: 25201520 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25201520.
Paluska SA. Knee braces. In: Pfenninger JL, Fowler GC, eds. Pfenninger and Fowler's Procedures for Primary Care. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Mosby; 2011:chap 193.
Percope de Andrade MA, Campos TV, Abreu-E-Silva GM. Supplementary methods in the nonsurgical treatment of osteoarthritis. Arthroscopy. 2015;31(4):785-792. PMID: 25633815 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25633815.
Silverwood V, Blagojevic-Bucknall M, Jinks C, Jordan JL, Protheroe J, Jordan KP. Current evidence on risk factors for knee osteoarthritis in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2015;23(4):507-515. PMID: 25447976 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25447976.
The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, timeliness, or correctness of any translations made by a third-party service of the information provided herein into any other language. © 1997- A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.