HEALTHY LIVING: Joints under pressure

Your knees, hips and ankles work hard. The knees, for example, absorb up to six pounds of pressure for each pound of body weight, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Excess weight adds strain to weight-bearing joints, which is why obesity is a major risk factor for arthritis – more than one-third of individuals with obesity have arthritis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of the disease, and once osteoarthritis is present, obesity compounds the problem.

A multidimensional burden

The impact of obesity on the joints can't be measured in pounds alone. Excess fat in the body isn't just dead weight – it's living tissue that produces inflammatory chemicals that can harm joints, according to the Arthritis Foundation. Studies show that these chemicals also contribute to osteoarthritis in all joints, such as those in the hands.

Obesity plays a major role in gout, another form of arthritis, and increases insulin production, which prevents the kidneys from filtering out uric acid. This accumulation in the joints causes gout.

Preventing or treating obesity through a combination of exercise and a healthy diet is the most important thing you can do for your joints. Taking care of the problem now can help you avoid more complex treatments down the road – the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons reports that individuals who maintain a healthy weight are 20 times less likely to need a total knee replacement in the future than those who are obese.

Siloam Springs Internal Medicine offers comprehensive care, from routine and preventive health services to special needs. Helping you to maintain good health and wellness – for a lifetime – is our primary goal. Call 479-215-3070 today to schedule an appointment or visit NW-Physicians.com.

Your (weight) loss is blood vessels' gain

Obesity is a major risk factor for high blood pressure, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of heart attack and stroke. People who are morbidly obese and have high blood pressure qualify for bariatric surgery, a procedure to reshape the stomach or reroute digestion, to assist with weight loss. Recently, researchers found that the surgery can help bring a patient's high blood pressure under control.

In a 2017 study published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, researchers randomly assigned 100 individuals with obesity and high blood pressure to take blood pressure-lowering medication and have gastric bypass surgery, or to take medication only. After 12 months, approximately 84 percent of dual-treatment patients were able to reduce the amount of blood-pressure medication they took by at least 30 percent while maintaining a blood pressure of less than 140/90, compared with approximately 13 percent of medication-only patients.

If you suspect someone is having a stroke, don't waste a precious second – call 911 immediately. The emergency room at Siloam Springs Regional Hospital (SSRH) is here for you and your family 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Through the AR SAVES program, SSRH uses a high-speed video communications system to help provide immediate, life-saving treatments to stroke patients 24 hours a day. The real-time video communication enables a stroke neurologist to evaluate whether emergency room physicians should use a powerful blood-clot dissolving agent within the critical three-hour period following the first signs of stroke.