Autumn, a season for gaining weight, is distressful to the knee and hip joints
By Song Sang-ho
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It is quite easy for people to gain weight during autumn because the depressed appetite during the sweltering hot summer will rebound vigorously.
However, due to the lowered temperature, people tend to be withdrawn and neglect exercising, thereby gaining weight without being aware.
It is a well-known fact that being overweight has adverse effects on health inducing high blood pressure and arteriosclerosis. Moreover, being overweight can be threatening to the health of the knee and hip joint.
According to the recent data presented in the “Survey on the national health and nutrition in 2013” by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is a definite trend in the obesity rate of women for each age bracket.
While the obesity rate of men peaks in their 30s and falls rapidly afterwards, that of the women gradually increases from the 30s- 40s and reaches the peak of 43 percent in their 60s.
The high rate of obesity in middle-aged women is associated with the large number of degenerative arthritis patients at this stage of their life.
Fundamentally, hormonal changes occur as women undergo menopause along with aging. The rapid drop in the secretion of female hormones that plays an important role in osteogenesis turns the cartilage of the knee joint into a state that is easily damaged.
Knee joints of women with less muscle mass and a smaller joint than men easily become the victims of degenerative arthritis along with damage to the cartilage of the knee joint, with menopause as the turning point.
When being overweight and obesity are added, damage to the knee joint will be accelerated and induce degenerative arthritis. An increase in body weight by 1 kilogram will increase the load on the knees two to three times, thereby further promoting damage to the cartilage.
In fact, the prevalence of degenerative arthritis in the knee joints of obese persons is known to be approximately twice that of people with a normal body weight.
In addition, doing household chores in a squatting position for a prolonged period of time further aggravates degenerative arthritis because the load exerted on the knee joint while sitting with the knees bent in excess of 130° reaches up to seven times the body weight.
The hip joint could also be affected. “Degenerative coxitis” is the disease of the hip joint that may be caused by being overweight or obesity. Because the hip joint plays the role of dispersing the load exerted on the lower body, an increase in the body weight will therefore increase the pressure the hip joint has to bear.
Given its nature, damage to the hip joint progresses very slowly. However, once the problems begin to manifest, effects are spread to the surrounding joints, thereby making it a representative joint that must undergo assertive treatment as soon as problems are detected.
If you experience severe pain in the hip regions when you sit cross-legged on the floor or walking up and down stairs, you should suspect damage to the hip joint.
It is essential to put efforts to maintain an appropriate body weight through proper eating habits and continuous exercise.
Begin with stretching and light strolls before increasing the intensity and duration of exercises in a controlled manner while gradually reinforcing the muscular strength rather than starting with aggressive exercises.
Swimming and cycling are the exercises recommended for arthritis patients as they are helpful in reinforcing muscular strength without imparting direct burden on the joints.
Avoid sitting on the floor and adverse postures that would be harmful to the knee joint, and attentions need to be paid to the prevention of increased body fat ratio and abdominal obesity more so than on the body weight itself.
Damage to the joints requires enormous efforts to restore them.
Just remember to maintain a “healthy posture and habits” and “appropriate body weight.”