What Mini Goal is motivating you right now!

JennKirklandmfp wrote: »

Healing these bad knees! Any weight off them will help...

Blessings and healing to you!! I developed this issue in 2017 or 18.....Yes! Every pound is equivalent to about 4 or 5. I switched from aerobics to yoga and stretching, applied heat, lost the weight. In the end, I lost about ten pounds which was enough to recover my mobility......my knee x-rays were highly improved. Every once in a while I remember the pain....for me it was my left knee.....and living pain free has been wonderful. You can do this...for me I had one Cortisone shot and decided I couldn't live with myself showing up for more.....my catalyst. Find your catalyst and it will happen. 😊

spirittrail wrote: »

Every pound is equivalent to about 4 or 5.

Can you please help me understand what this means?

spirittrail wrote: »

mtaratoot wrote: »

spirittrail wrote: »

Every pound is equivalent to about 4 or 5.

Can you please help me understand what this means?

Of course mtaratoot....happy to clarify. For every one pound of weight you lose.....you relieve FOUR pounds of pressure on your knees. You also relieve at least that amount on your hips. So by losing just TEN pounds.....your knees are relieved of 40 pounds of pressure. This literally eases the stress on your hips and knees by quite a bit! I like to think it's Nature's Way of encouraging you to to meet her in the middle and thru TEAMWORK......she'll help you if you help her to improve how your body functions. 😊

OK. You reduce the force, not the weight. One pound of weight will always be one pound. Since we're not leaving the planet, weight can be assumed to be the same as mass. Force is mass times acceleration. If it is true that one pound of mass creates four pounds of force in a human knee when performing some activity (running would increase the force versus walking, going down stairs or down a steep hill would increase the force versus level ground, and I'm not sure where you got the four pound number), then a 150 pound human would experience 600 pounds of force on each knee doing that activity. Humans evolved to walk, so it seems to me that even though it's a big number, our bodies are designed for it. If that 150 pound human lost five pounds, they would have lost about 3.3% of their body weight. The force on their knee would also be about 3.3% less. That seems pretty proportional.

All that said - if a person has bad knees and is very overweight, it would be a benefit for their knees if they lost weight. No doubt about that. I think the numbers may be misleading because the reduction in force is proportional to the reduction in mass.

There's even some benefit to having mass for bones and joints. I have a friend who is pretty small. She always has been. As she ages, her bone density is decreasing. She doesn't have enough mass to really help maintain bone density. I loaned her a SCUBA weight belt to wear when she walks to help stimulate bone density or at least keep it from decreasing as fast. She also has bad ankles. She has to make adjustments to how she walks because of it, but the benefits to her bones outweigh the issues with her joints.

takinitalloff wrote: »

mtaratoot wrote: »

If it is true that one pound of mass creates four pounds

@mtaratoot It looks like this number is pretty well accepted in the field:

A key study published in Arthritis & Rheumatism of overweight and obese adults with knee osteoarthritis (OA) found that losing one pound of weight resulted in four pounds of pressure being removed from the knees. In other words, losing just 10 pounds would relieve 40 pounds of pressure from your knees.
source: https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/healthy-living/nutrition/weight-loss/weight-loss-benefits-for-arthritis#

Let's look at weight and your knees. When you walk across level ground, the force on your knees is the equivalent of 1½ times your body weight. That means a 200-pound man will put 300 pounds of pressure on his knees with each step. Add an incline, and the pressure is even greater: the force on each knee is two to three times your body weight when you go up and down stairs, and four to five times your body weight when you squat to tie a shoelace or pick up an item you dropped.
source: https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/why-weight-matters-when-it-comes-to-joint-pain

When you walk, your joints get a pounding. For every step, your knee takes on a force equal to 3-6 times your weight. What does that add up to? We'll do the math for you. Even as little as 10 extra pounds puts an additional burden on your knee of 30-60 pounds.
source: https://www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/knee-osteoarthritis-weight-loss

When it comes to knee arthritis pain, losing weight pays big dividends. In fact, losing 10 pounds can eliminate tens of millions of pounds of pressure from your knees every year.
Experts estimate that for every 1 pound you weigh, your knees feel the force of 3 pounds of pressure when you take a step. [references: 3) , 4)]
[To keep this short-ish I didn’t copy the math from the article.]
Keep in mind that the numbers used in the calculations above are estimates. Experts’ estimates of pressure on the knee per pound of bodyweight vary, ranging from 2:1 to 4:1. The ratio may be influenced by factors such as anatomy, gait, and footwear.
source: https://www.arthritis-health.com/blog/why-losing-weight-best-treatment-knee-arthritis

studies cited in this last article:
3) D’Lima DD, Fregly BJ, Patil S, Steklov N, Colwell CW. Knee joint forces: prediction, measurement, and significance. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part H, Journal of Engineering in Medicine. 2012;226(2):95-102.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3324308/

4) Messier SP, Gutekunst DJ, Davis C, Devita P. Weight loss reduces knee-joint loads in overweight and obese older adults with knee osteoarthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52(7):2026-32.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15986358/

Thank you @takinitalloff 😍 I had no idea the medical evidence was this easily accessible. Im in Canada with excellent medical services and this information was relayed to me thru my family doctor, the radiologist, the orthopedic specialist I was referred to......as well as other medical professionals. We don't mess around up here!! My last eye exam took hours and they did everything but remove my eyeball from its socket 😆. A slight chance of cataracts is being closely monitored. 😊

PS I have said this before and I continue to stand by it......I am proud to live in a Country that provides outstanding medical services to its citizens. It saves me from having to waste my time providing undocumented stats @mtaratoot Our medical professionals payed dearly for this information and we gratefully appreciate it 🙏

@takinitalloff Thank you so much for your kind words! 💖 I am a strong believer in patience and self compassion because I have learned that progress and success is never a vacuum. It always takes teamwork. By that I mean....sometimes you have to look to YOURSELF to be your own cheerleader. I've learned our bodies are very powerful allies if we "listen" to our cravings, our pains, our signals that we are too full, there are many ways our bodies send us messages. We may SAY we want to lose 10 pounds in 12 weeks......but if we ignore thirst signals.....ignore the urge to stretch or walk for 10 mins rather than force an exhausting workout......or even just sleep for 15 hours because we are stressed...the road will be more difficult. So I'm always "listening".....I trust it much more than societies pressures. For example, my body is currently craving fruit...and is completely turned off by sodium. Just by listening and not eating out of habits...I know positive changes are happening as I slowly evolve towards reaching a "Normal" body weight. I'm not going to force it to happen, it's my very dear friend and it knows MUCH better than I do! 😊