Weight loss significantly impacts patients' knee joint deterioration, according to a study recently published in Radiology.
Here are four things to know:
1. Overweight patients who lose a significant amount of weight show lower rates of knee cartilage degeneration than those who don't lose weight.
2. The National Institutes of Health list obesity as a risk factor for osteoarthritis.
3. Two factors seem to significantly increase obesity's impact on osteoarthritis:
- Weight adds pressure and wears down joints and cartilage
- Overweight people have higher blood levels of substances that cause joint inflammation
4. Weight loss reduces patients' articular cartilage deterioration and increases menisci condition.
Lead author Alexandra Gersing, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco said, "Our study emphasizes the importance of individualized therapy strategies and lifestyle interventions in order to prevent structural knee joint degeneration as early as possible in obese and overweight patients at risk for osteoarthritis or with symptomatic osteoarthritis."
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