Overweight! An Addition to risk of knee osteoarthritis

Knee is the major weight bearing joint of the body. The knees are the shock absorbents of the body. Their role is to absorb the force when we step, jump, run, play, or do any movement with our legs. Hence, it is no rocket science to understand that if you are overweight, your knees would be experiencing more shock and the heavy weight causes further damage to the knees and the cartilage (A cushioned or shock absorbing layer in the knee joint) too. You will feel surprised to know that the Knee joint feels five times the body weight at each step. So, the more you weigh, the more pressure on the knee and the quicker the cartilage wears out.

Osteoarthritis can be extremely painful as the cartilage between the bones is depleted or in severe cases gone, which makes the bones rub together. According to the theory of BMI, Body Mass Index, people whose BMI is in the range of 25 to 30 are considered either overweight or obese and they are under the constant threat of becoming a victim of osteoarthritis.

 Apart from this direct relation, there are two other factors that connect heavy weight and knee pain;

·       The first one is Poor blood circulation. Overweight people suffer from various problems due to improper blood circulation and one of them is knee pain. Lack of blood rotation causes lack of oxygen and knee muscles tend to get weak over the period of time.

·       The other factor is Leptin. It is the master hormone that is released by fat cells of the body and many experts believe that it works in favor of osteoarthritis.

Fortunately, exercise can help you lose weight and fat, gain muscle, and keep your knees healthy! Here are some exercises which might help you to get relieved from knee pain;

1.    Chair sit-ups:

a.     Sit on a chair without arm rest

b.    Get up from the chair with feet flat over the floor

c.     And sit again

d.    Repeat this for 10-15 times twice a day

 

2.    Leg raises:

a.     Lie flat

b.    Lift your leg by keeping knee straight

c.     Put it down

d.    Repeat it for about 10-15 times twice a day

3.    Knee press:

a.     Lie flat with both legs straight

b.    Place a pillow or towel roll beneath the knee

c.     Press it for 5-10 seconds

d.    And then relax

e.     Repeat for 10-15 times twice a day

4.    Knee curls:

a.     Lie flat on your stomach

b.    Bend your knee

c.     Then straighten it

d.    Repeat this for 10-15 times twice a day

5.    Calf stretch:

a.     Hold this position for 5-10 seconds

b.    Repeat it for 10-15 times twice a day

6.    Hamstring stretch:

a.     Hold the position for 5-10 seconds

b.    Repeat it for 10-15 times twice a day

Not to do:

·       Running

·       Squatting

·       Cross leg sitting

Losing weight can be the most effective way in order to provide a long life to the joints. Other than this reducing weight can also provide amount of mobility to the joints and it can also reduce the intensity of pain. Lower inflammation level is again a great benefit of shedding weight. We often come across people saying that they want to exercise and lose weight but they can’t because their knee hurts a lot. So now it seems to be a never-ending cycle. Hence the easy way out here is taking baby steps.