Besides the life threatening consequences of obesity, obesity also affects our musculoskeletal system. The excess weight places enormous amounts of strain and force on:
- The joints of our body, causing the cartilage to wear down prematurely and unevenly, resulting in joint pain (osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease).
- Muscles cannot function efficiently while trying to overcome the stresses placed on them by extra weight. The result is weak and painful body movements.
- The excess weight of obesity causes a collapse of the supporting structures in our feet (the arches), the knee ligaments, and the vertebra in our backs. This can make walking, even a few steps, difficult and painful.
- The sheer bulk of the extra fat presses on the nerves in the wrists and ankles, producing painful Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and nerve entrapments.
The musculoskeletal system includes those structures that we rely on to help us lose weight and stay healthy. When these structures cannot perform even their most basic chores, such as moving us from point A to point B without effort and pain, than we are indeed at risk for a premature death from cardiovascular disease, diabetes and strokes.
Please keep in mind that some people can exercise without any discomfort and pain but for most of us the two factor that play most into pain are long periods of inactivity coupled with the extra pounds that we tack which in turn puts extra stress on our joints.
In order to improve your overall health, while following your weight loss program, you need only lose about 10% of your body weight. This means, if you weigh 300 pounds, you need only lose about 30 pounds to notice an improvement in how you feel, and your overall health!
Getting started losing weight:
The first step is to consult your family doctor, and have a physical exam.
Choose a diet that suits your needs and personality:
- If you think that you will need a support group diet plan, than you may want to consider Topps or Weight-Watchers
- If you are too busy to cook “healthy,” you may need a Jenny Craig or Seattle Sutton-type program, where you buy prepared healthy meals.
- If you want to not only lose weight, but keep it off, then you will need to always eat healthy. To do this, you must choose a diet that you can live with, and that has become a part of your life-style after you have reached your weight-loss goal.
Choose an exercise program that fits your personality, health, your present weight, and your life-style. Many people with a busy life-style cannot not find the time to go to a health club or gym for exercise. They walk for exercise. Just an extra 200 steps here and there, and before you know it you will be walking an extra mile a day, enjoying it, and feeling better. No matter your weight, size, health, or schedule, you too can begin a walking program.
10,000 Steps a Day
The goal of taking 10,000 steps in a day is a rough equivalent to the Surgeon General’s recommendation to accumulate 30 minutes of activity most days of the week. It should be enough to reduce your risk for disease and help you lead a longer, healthier life. But not everyone should start right out trying to get 10K a day. So instead take a comfortable, gradual approach — the 20% Boost Program. A reasonable goal for most people is to increase average daily steps each week by 500 per day until you can easily average 10,000 per day.
Easy Ways to Add Steps to Your Daily Routine:
- To accurately keep track of the number of steps you walk each day, buy a pedometer. This is a handy device that you attach to your belt, and each time you take a step, it registers it on a counter. You do not need to spend a lot of money on a pedometer. Cheap pedometers can be found for less than $13.00 that only measure the steps you take. More expensive pedometers can measure distance in miles, your heart rate, respiratory rate, etc.
- Use stairs instead of an elevator.
- Try to do as many errands on foot that you can. Avoid driving short distances; walk if possible.
- Any time that you are waiting for an appointment or service, get up and walk; do not sit.
- Park your car at the furthest available parking spot, instead of in the closest parking spot, and walk a few extra feet.
- Join a walking club.
Before beginning any exercise program, including walking, we recommend that you do a self-examination. This should consist of a “self-examination” of the parts of your body that will be stressed the most, with the extra burden of regular exercise. For instance, if you think that you may have flat feet, or arthritis of the knee, check with your healthcare provider about your exercise program and the impact it will have on your feet or knees. They may recommend orthotics to support your feet. You want to be proactive so that painful or stiff parts of your body even from a slight increase in walking will not produce discomfort, forcing you to stop the activity. Stopping is not good!
Feet: Our feet are the main supporting structures of our body, and must function pain free to help us lose weight.
How excessive body weight causes the arch to collapse: The normal arch is made up of bones and joints which are held tightly together, in a precise relationship. In order for the arch to flatten out, the ligaments and tendons which hold the bones and joints together must become stretched, leading to a collapse of the arch. Excessive weight is the #1 cause of flat feet (collapsed arches) in both adults and children today!
If the arches are not protected from becoming flat, or if they are already flat and left untreated then the severely overweight person may expect to experience some of the following painful and debilitating conditions that could stop your exercise program such as heel spurs and plantar fasciitis.
The plantar fascia is a broad band of fibrous tissue located along the bottom surface of the foot that runs from the heel to the forefoot. Excessive stretching of the plantar fascia, usually due to over-pronation (flat feet), causes plantar fasciitis. Description: http://www.clevelandfac.com/pics/archstrain.jpgObesity is a leading cause of plantar fascia; the inflammation is caused by the plantar fascia being stretched away from the heel often leads to pain in the heel and arch areas. The pain is often extreme in the morning when an individual first gets out of bed or after a prolonged period of rest.
Knees: Our knees are the major joints that are affected by all weight-bearing activities. If they are stiff, painful, or swollen, they cannot efficiently carry our body weight.
Overweight and obese people must be most concerned with osteoarthritis, or degenerative joint disease, of the knee. It is described as a wearing away of the cartilage that cushions and protects bone surfaces in a joint. In the obese person, the wearing down of the cartilage in the knee is hastened by the sheer bulk the knees must support.
The most common symptoms that one may experience are:
- Brief period of morning stiffness that lessens after moving around.
- Aching pain in the knee which increases with use, and is relieved by rest.
- The affected joint usually appears swollen, and this swelling feels “hard.” However, there is no redness, nor increased warmth around the joint.
- The affected joint is tender when you apply pressure to it.
- The range of motion of the joint is usually limited.
- In the later stages of osteoarthritis of the knee, a grinding or “clicking” sound or feeling may occur when the joint is moved.
Self-Treatment of the Knee Joint in the Obese Individual:
The most successful treatment is to protect the knee joint. Use cold therapy wraps such as Arctic Ease Cryotherapy Wraps® to remove inflammation and assist in relieving pain in sore muscles and joints while reducing muscle spasms. Arctic Ease Cryotherapy Wraps® can be used while exercising to assist in limiting post exercise inflammation and pain.
- A reduction in joint pain
- A Significant slowdown in the progress of the disease
- A reduction in the chances of our injuring other joints when we walk. If we have a painful knee, we sub-consciously force ourselves to walk in an abnormal way, so as to try and minimize the pressure we exert on the knee joint. When we do this, we apply abnormal and excessive pressure on other parts of our body (such as the hip, back, etc.). This is called compensation. Compensation leads to over-utilization of these areas, and new sites of pain, swelling, and eventually osteoarthritis.
Swollen and Achy Legs: If your legs feel like they “weigh a ton,” and they are swollen and achy, your desire and will power to stick with any exercise program will be greatly reduced.
Overweight and obese people frequently experience tired and achy legs, which often swell the more they are up on them. The legs “feel like they weigh a ton,” and it is an effort to take just one more step. There is nothing more devastating to an exercise program than persistent fatigue and achiness of the legs! Use cold therapy wraps such as Arctic Ease Cryotherapy Wraps® to remove inflammation and assist in relieving pain in sore muscles and joints while reducing muscle spasms.
Final Words of Wisdom:
- It may take a few weeks to begin to notice some weight loss and a “healthy feeling.” So do not become discouraged; stick with your diet and this walking program.
- Buy good, sensible, “middle of the line” (not the cheapest nor the most expensive) walking shoes.
- If you notice discomfort or pain in the feet or knees check out the following links for some tips:
Knee Pain and Problems
Knee Pain Basics
Foot Pain and Problems
Foot Pain Basics
Once you have reached your desired weight, continue your exercise program, and live a long and healthy life!
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