The benefits of weight loss surgery

 A reputable new study found that bariatric surgery, a weight-loss procedure, may contribute to long-lasting pain relief, as well as improved physical abilities.

The benefits of weight loss surgery are numerous and well-documented, including reduced blood pressure and improved blood sugars. Now, data from a recent study show that there is also long-lasting improvement in pain levels and physical function.

What was the conclusion of the study?

A study followed up with nearly 1,500 people one to seven years after they had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy, two of the most common procedures for weight loss. The majority of participants were female (85%) and white (82%), with Hispanic (4%) and Black participants (11%) less well represented. Most of the people in the study were between 38 and 55 years old.

Before the surgery, participants reported their physical abilities, pain levels, health, and quality of life on questionnaires. They also were tested to measure how well they could walk 400 meters in seven minutes or less. Some participants said they suffered from severe or even disabling knee or hip pain because of osteoarthritis. Assessments were repeated annually for up to seven years after the surgery.

What were you researching?

In this study, 41% to 64% of participants reported improvements in pain and physical function, as measured by objective walking ability. In addition, 65% to 72% of people with osteoarthritis symptoms reported feeling less pain in their knees and hips. Plus, 41% of people previously unable to walk 400 meters in less than 7 minutes were now able to do so following surgery.

In addition to being better physically, participants reported less pain and more physical function at the end of the study. One medication was found to be unchanged throughout the study, but this may be because it's used for back pain before weight loss surgery. The lack of a control group that didn't have weight loss surgery makes it hard to know whether improvements are due solely to surgery or one type is better than another.

Why are these results so impressive?

After bariatric surgery, the health improvements are greatest in the first one to two years. Things will usually plateau around three to seven years post-surgery, but they'll still be beneficial overall

Most studies of joint pain, physical function, and work productivity after weight loss surgery are limited to no more than two years follow-up. As a result, how long people are able to sustain the improvements they make after surgery has been unclear. This study provides evidence of long-term positive changes in important clinical outcomes that matter in daily life: body or joint pain, what tasks can be completed by oneself, mobility, and quality of life.

Obesity can lead to increased weight that causes excessive pressure on the joints, which worsens the pain

Obesity can lead to the progression of osteoarthritis, a degenerative disease that occurs when joints experience excessive wear and tear. As a result, you can suffer from pains in the hips and knees due to the extra pressure of obesity. Every one pound of increased weight causes four to six pounds of additional pressure on the knee joints, and people with obesity are 20x more likely to need knee replacement surgery than those who are not overweight.

This is the bottom line

Obesity causes a lot of problems, the joints being one of them. Bariatric surgery is a great way to severely reduce body weight and improves pain and physical abilities, as well as reduces symptoms in your hips and knees.

Weight loss from bariatric surgery is an excellent alternative to total knee replacement surgery, especially if you're considering Knee Replacement Surgery. Better yet, bariatric surgery will reduce the risk of complications, and it often lowers the chance of needing a knee replacement altogether.

When taken together, these results show that bariatric surgery can have long-term effects. These effects go beyond the normal improvements we think of in terms of reduced blood pressure, improved blood sugar levels, and an overall improvement in general health; it also improves pain levels and physical function. This has a huge impact on quality of life.

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