The knee is the largest joint and can bear enormous loads. For a short time it can carry up to 1.5 tons. Nevertheless, many people suffer from osteoarthritis-related complaints in the knee. The higher the body weight, the greater the risk of osteoarthritis. Below, you will learn what the risks are as a result of excess weight for the knees.
Rheumatic pain in the knee
It is estimated that around ten percent of all Germans know what it means when every movement becomes a torment: They suffer from rheumatic pain. Rheumatism (Greek) means “pulling, tearing pain” and is a collective term for a variety of very different painful diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Rheumatism can be caused by inflammation or by constant wear and tear. A differentiation is made between
- Soft tissue rheumatism, in which muscle, ligaments, tendons and bursa are painfully altered.
- Degenerative forms of rheumatism, such as osteoarthritis.
In addition, there are inflammatory forms of rheumatism such as rheumatic fever and chronic arthritis, which are characterized by inflammation of the joints with stiffness, pain and swelling.
Measures against rheumatism
Quality of life can be significantly reduced with rheumatoid arthritis. While there are effective antirheumatic drugs that reduce rheumatic pain, they can cause symptoms of stomach ulcers and other side effects with prolonged use.
But there are things you can do to prevent joint wear and tear. It is known that being overweight promotes the occurrence of arthrosis. So ideally, you should try to maintain a normal weight.
Arthrosis, a widespread disease
Arthrosis-related complaints (arthrosis = joint wear) are common and predominantly the spine, knee and hip joints are affected by these changes. It must be taken into account that 75% of all people over the age of 50 have problems with their joints, which is due to the physiological aging process. Only early or excessive signs of wear are considered pathological changes.
The shifted center of gravity overloads the knees
The knee is the largest joint and is extremely resilient. Nevertheless, osteoarthritis-related complaints in the knee are very common: nearly 25% of all people with osteoarthritis complain of pain in the knee joint. The higher the weight, the greater the risk of developing arthrosis – with overweight being much more damaging to the knee joint than to the hip, for example.
In particular, truncal obesity places excessive stress on the entire spine and lower extremities. The balance of the back and abdominal muscles is disturbed; as a result, the pelvic region tilts. As a result, the center of gravity is shifted, leading to overloading of the knee joint.
What are the symptoms?
Typical signs of overuse damage to the knee include a painful pulling or twinge. If the knee joint arthrosis is already advanced, the typical cartilage friction noises (crunching) develop.
Other factors that promote the development of knee pain include:
- Excessive load during sports activity
- Metabolic diseases (diabetes: one of the possible consequences of being overweight).
- Malposition of the legs
- Injuries due to accidents
- Not properly healed bone fractures
The consequences of osteoarthritis are pain, episodes of inflammation and thickening and deformation, although the extent varies greatly for each joint and each stage. Osteoarthritis usually progresses in episodes. Affected patients experience alternating (months-long) symptom-free periods and painful intervals.
Taking the pain out of the joint more easily
Since excess weight leads to mechanical overstressing of the cartilage and is thus a possible cause of knee damage, the excess kilos should be shed accordingly. Regular physical activities such as swimming, cycling and gymnastics also play an essential role as a prophylactic measure against “crunching in the knee“.
