Losing weight may help control osteoarthritis

Losing weight may help mitigate symptoms in patients suffering from osteoarthritis, a new study has found. Weight loss may prevent and significantly alleviate the symptoms of osteoarthritis, a progressive disease of the joints known as "wear and tear" arthritis, according to a literature review appearing in the March 2013 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons(JAAOS). According to the article, obesity actually may trigger the biomechanical and inflammatory changes that cause osteoarthritis, and the pain and loss of mobility associated with the condition, reports Science Daily. "There's a clear link between obesity and osteoarthritis, and the link is both from biomechanical factors as well as systemic factors. The systemic component appears to be significant," said Ryan C. Koonce, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon at Skagit Regional Clinics in Mount Vernon, Washington, and one of the authors of the literature review. Approximately one half of osteoarthritis cases of the knee could be avoided in the US if obesity was removed as a risk factor, according to the article. "It's important that doctors are aware of the different ways that obesity causes arthritis not only for treatment but for prevention of the condition," said Jonathan T. Bravman, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Colorado, and a co-author of the study. "We are underutilising weight loss as a primary treatment option for arthritis and joint pain," he said.