Obesity Related Knee Arthritis: How can Physical Therapy help?

Anyone can be affected with knee arthritis. The condition usually develops after the age of 40 but in case of obese people, it can develop earlier. Studies show that two out of every there obese adults are at the higher risk of developing this disabling and painful knee pathology. So it is clear that obesity can affect every system of human body. How does being obese affect or hurt knees? Knee arthritis is so much severe in obese patients that they cannot even climb a step. Obesity makes it difficult for the knee joint to heal and rest. Apart from this, being overweight affects your knees in the following ways:

The continuous stress of over-weight makes the joints to work harder thus leading to strain.
Excess weight prevents the cell growth in the knee joint and as result of which knee joint cells do not get repaired
Excess fats stored in body slows down the blood vessel growth which in turn deteriorates the knee joint thus leading to severe pain
Fat wears away cartilage at the end of our knee bones; leaving the bones scrape against each other; thus leading to condition known as osteoarthritis.
How can a Physical Therapist help? As it is difficult and painful for the obese patients to exercise; physical therapists help them to become physically active in a pain free way. Physical therapists develop a customized treatment program for you which will not only help you to preserve muscle tissue and protect your joints but will also help you to burn calories and get rid of excessive fats. A personalized treatment program will be designed according to your needs which will include aerobic and strength training exercises. The efficient physical therapists will help you to:

Eliminate pain by creating an exercise program including activities which can be performed with least amount of pain
Improvise your cardiovascular fitness by developing a heart-healthy aerobic exercise program which will boost up your body’s metabolism and burn more calories.
Enhance muscle strength by creating an exercise program to address any muscle weakness. Enhancing muscle strength will help you to perform your routine activities faster and also relieve joint pain. Low-impact forms of weight training will help you to alleviate joint stress.
Restore movement by developing specific treatment modules which help to improve movement of the stiff joints. The physical therapist might progress from the passive motions to active exercising module.
Improve muscle flexibility after determining major tight muscles and will demonstrate how to stretch those muscles
Improve posture after assessing your postural deformity and will also teach you exercises to maintain a proper posture
Boost up your activity levels by creating a customized treatment program that will address your specific needs and goal. And after discussing your activity goals, makes you reach those in the fastest, safest and most effective way
So for the obese patients with knee arthritis, consulting a physical therapist is very beneficial as it would:

Help them to maintain joints’ full range of motion
Strengthen the muscles supporting knee joint
Help the knee joint to absorb shock
Minimize stress on knee joint while enhancing strength and flexibility
We, at Accessible Physical Therapy know that each patient is different, so our certified Physical Therapists always go for through evaluation before designing any customized treatment program for you. We use patient-proven methods & techniques and help you to regain mobility as early as possible.