Weight loss can ease joint pain

People who are overweight and suffer from osteoarthritis can relieve some of their joint pain and reduce further damage simply by shedding excess pounds, according to two experts who were inundated with calls during Saturday's Deseret Morning News/Intermountain Healthcare Hotline.

Dr. Scott Johnson, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist, and Roger Petersen, director of physical therapy, both from The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital (TOSH) on the Cottonwood Hospital campus in Murray, took more than 60 calls ranging from questions about cortisone injections to queries from folks considering more aggressive treatment of their failing, painful joints.

Most of the callers were over 60 — not surprising since joint degeneration typically increases with age, although it can also result from defective cartilage or injury at any age.

Petersen said walking or climbing stairs when you're even 10 pounds overweight puts a great deal of excessive pressure on weight-bearing joints like hips, knees and ankles. He recommends a healthy diet and low-impact exercise to shed the weight and improve the joints. It's important to use low-impact, high-repetition exercises to keep from further injuring joints stricken with osteoarthritis, he said. About 16 million Americans have osteoarthritis.

Many of the questions involved the spine, as well, according to Johnson. People were particularly interested in how to stay active without doing further damage. And they wanted to know about non-surgical treatment options.

For patients with painful arthritis in the hand, Johnson said intermittent bracing is often quite effective.

Other pain-reducing remedies for any joint with osteoarthritis include topical medications and nonprescription anti-inflammatory medicines. For more severe pain and seriously damaged joints, prescription treatments and even surgery may be needed. Most experts, Johnson said, start with a conservative approach and work up through more aggressive treatments.

The good news for Utahns, the two agreed, is that there are many care providers who are very skilled at treating osteoarthritis.

One of the treatment goals is to allow patients to self-manage as much as possible with good education and clear directions on what activities and exercises help rather than hurt distressed joints.

It's important to maintain flexibility and do moderate strengthening exercises, Petersen said.

And it's easier to head off trouble in the early stages, before osteoarthritis progresses, added Johnson.