It may come to you as no surprise that losing excessive weight has multiple positive health benefits. These include things like reducing blood pressure, lowering cholesterol, reducing risk of heart disease and stroke improving sleep and breathing etc. But did you know, weight loss can prevent knee or hip replacement surgery?
Studies have also shown that for every 1% of weight loss, there is a 2% reduction in the risk of a knee replacement with those with knee osteoarthritis and 3% decrease in risk of hip replacement for those with hip pain.
This is because of both mechanical (decrease in joint load pressure) and systemic (reduced adipose tissue producing systemic inflammation).
It is recommended that weight loss intervention should comprise of both dietary advice and exercise! Care should be taken when commencing weight loss in older people (over 65) to ensure the maintenance of lean body mass and bone density.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding weight loss interventions, contact our Exercise Physiologists at PROHEALTH PHYSIO & FITNESS to get you on the right track!
Source: The University of Queensland
Title: Obesity lowering the age for knee replacements
Time: 5 mins
Source: medibank
Title: 5 knee replacement alternatives to try before surgery
Time: 5 mins