“Can osteoarthritis be caused by being overweight?”
My mother is overweight and has recently been diagnosed with osteoarthritis. Will losing weight help in treating her condition?
7 Answers
Losing weight will help but not eliminate her symptoms. Osteoarthritis has multiple factors and obesity is one contributing factor
Excessive weight contributes to osteoarthritis in weight bearing joints such as the knees, feet, hips and low back. Dr Dore
Unquestionably, weight loss will help osteoarthritis - esp of lumbar spine, hips and knees
The answer depends on where she has joint pain. Knees are a very common site for osteoarthritis for overweight patients. Losing even a few pounds should help to reduce knee pain. If the pain is in other joints, weight loss may be less important.
Obesity affects arthritis for two reasons: First, the excess load on your joints can cause pain and discomfort and second, a number of inflammatory mediators produced in fat affect joint tissues and play a role in pain, just as being overweight is linked to increased arthritis pain, weight loss may help improve arthritis symptoms. Check out this article for more information: https://www.everydayhealth.com/news/reasons-lose-weight-with-arthritis/
Losing weight may help. It depends if the arthritis is in her back, hips, knees, etc.
Hi yes definitely the more pressure on the joints the more pain it would be. So definitely weight loss is a big factor. She can also have hyaluronic acid injections into the knee to help lubricate the joints.
