Did losing weight help your pain?

Having 80+ pounds less weight on my joints has definitely lessened pain. Both in my knees and lower back. Now, neither of those areas had any other issues like arthritis or anything, but I'd definitely have pain when having to get up and down off the floor, or walk a lot, etc.. Now I run and hike and walk and am infinitely more active without pain.

I don't restrict or add in anything food-wise, nor do I take any supplements, etc. So it has just been increased fitness and lower weight for me.

I have a triple-twisted spine and an arthritic pelvis (thanks, parental neglect!)--scoliosis on steroids. Before I lost most of my weight (42 lbs), my flare-ups were more frequent and more painful. I don't have many limitations now; I can't run or lift more than 40 lbs. I used to be a lot more limited in things I was allowed to do. Being able to touch my toes whenever I feel like it without any pain is awesome.

I don't think any particular way of eating is going to help you. Eat what you like, just reasonable portions of it. The diet that works is the diet you stick to, not the one you suffer through. You're in pain; you're suffering enough :P

As far as diet, there's one way of eating call the anti-inflammatory diet which could be helpful in that aspect of your troubles. Keto also reduces inflammatory markers, and leads to a reduction in pain for some, but it's obviously more restrictive.

Have you tried physical therapy? It could help you resume more normal activity in the meantime, which could also be helpful in your weight loss.

Losing weight helped my knees
I also cut back on Sodium which reduces the fluid build up around my joints
especially.

I've lost 100lbs and kept it off for years.

I'm 67 now. Before losing I couldn't walk more than 2 blocks because of low back pain. My knees and feet hurt.

I rarely have knee pain. Have this on/off relationship with Plantar Facsciitis. Some problems with my lower back.

The big difference is that my pains are usually the direct result of my active lifestyle. I could fix my feet by giving up Pickleball but don't plan on it.

My view of my low back pain is it has mostly to do with muscle tightness that I'm now fighting with yoga and massage therapy. It works.

And c'mon. For the negative argument to be true, banging an extra 40-50 lbs would have nothing to do with your knee or back pain. Is that what you really think?

Try an experiment, lose 40lbs, do some kind of therapeutic work to stretch your hamstrings and open your hips and see if it works. It's the only way. When that inner voice starts saying it won't work, tell the voice to shut up.

Yes, losing weight and changing the types of foods you eat, eliminating stress and getting enough rest at night will help. At my highest I was 340 lbs and in extreme pain. Had to hold my coffee cup with two hands and nearly cried everytime I had to turn the key in my front door. I had to sleep in a recliner propped up with pillows, etc. I took heavy duty drugs, injections and drips with scary side effects to ease the pain (was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and was terrified of my future). I went on a couple of diets (HCG and raw food diet). I lost about 45 lbs. both times and my pain level decreased each time. Several years ago I was laid off from a very high-pressure job. Lowered stress helped. Walking helped. Drinking lots of water, moving around frequently (sitting for long periods made it worse). I ran out of insurance and could no longer get the meds and was terrified, anticipating great pain. I was surprised when I just felt a little pain, especially during rainy and cold weather. I used 1 to 2 Aleve per day. Soon I was able to stop that because I'd researched foods that cause inflammation. I stopped eating red meats and stuck to chicken, turkey or fish. I ate more plants -- vegetables and fruit. I avoided pineapple and melons, ate fewer sugary foods, cut back on fried foods, ate more stirfry, etc. I just joined MFP a couple of weeks ago and began counting calories and reading the boards about different eating plans. I am now LCHF, have eliminated sugar and sugary fruits and recently went wheat-free (and have eliminated all forms of rice and such). I feel even better still and now walk a lot which helps. It couldn't hurt to give these things a try -- every 10 lbs. you lose with put so much less stress on your back, knees and feet! Good luck.

I have degenerative disk disease, a bone spur on my lower spine, as well as pain in my right knee. I’ve been doing keto for a little over 3 months (lost 25 pounds), and it’s helped tremendously. I’ve also been taking cod liver oil daily. I haven’t started exercising yet, but when I did in the past, I remember the pain was really bad in the beginning, but lessened over time, and was much better as my body got stronger.

Fflpnari wrote: »

Would love to hear your story.
Im 5'10 and 227 (goal 175-185). My weight yo-yo's a lot. Im trying to tell myself that losing weight will help with pain, but then the negative person in me says no it wont change anything. I have back (low back/SI joint), neck, and right knee pain. Im very active but have to modify exercises due to pain.
Im young and would love not to be in pain anymore.

Also did certain ways of eating help with pain? Not eating junk food, sugar, eating paleo, etc.


Thanks in advance

I was trying to recover from a back injury last year (slipped on some ice and inflamed my ligaments, it degenerated further because my feet over-pronate and caused my pelvis and knee to twist out place) I was back and forth to the chiropractor for a couple of months before we did a gait scan and discovered the issue with my feet. Since then I realised that the extra weight I was carrying wasn't helping matters so in November I started using MFP properly, got some insoles to correct my back, started eating at a deficit and started some low impact cardio and strength training. I got an assessment and new gait scan in April and my back is spot on and I have corrected my over-pronation. I put most of this down to the strength training and improving the muscle strength in my back and my knee.

I have had the odd twinge since from long drives (old car with heavy steering) but otherwise I have been mostly pain-free since.

ladyhusker39 wrote: »

I have degenerative disc disease that has caused arthritis in my hip. Losing weight has absolutely helped. Also moving a lot throughout the day and not letting it get so stiff helps. I walk a lot throughout the day for this.

It's challenging and limiting especially what I can do in a class where I live to workout but I stick with it and find it helpful in managing the pain and slowing the progression of the condition.

Same here, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, previous herniated discs, one laminectomy under my belt, one knee repair, one other bad knee, etc. Having 120lbs less weight on my body has helped immensely. There are even days I am not in pain, then there are days where I ache anyway due to obvious reasons. But before I lost the weight I lived with pain every. single. day. Will it cure all of your pain? Probably not. Will it help? Yup.

The right answer is maybe. It depends on the cause of your pain. When you're overweight, you're absolutely putting more stress on your joints, so it may exacerbate joint pain. Losing weight will not make arthritis in the joint magically go away. A lot of pain is related to immobility. Are you moving more as you lose weight? That may help your pain, but it's not the weight loss per se, it's the increased movement. Pain is complicated. You might consider talking to your doctor and getting a referral to a physical therapist. They can help you address those non weight related pain issues and help you develop a plan to be more active while minimizing your pain.