Improved
6112 HealthChanged
3786 LivesSaved
3568 Lives0 lives impacted in the last 24 hrs Learn More
Dr. Christensen describes the lifestyle changes women with lower extremity arthritis can incorporate to ease their condition.
Dr. Christensen:
The advice that I most often give to people is do the simple things first when you are treating your lower extremity arthritis. If you have a problem like obesity and then you have a second problem like lower extremity arthritis, you need to start to pamper your legs.
I think you need to spend money on shoes and do so frequently. Evaluate your shoes and be careful not to say, just because the upper part of shoe looks healthy, the lower part of the shoe may be completely worn out and be a brick that you are walking on instead of a nice cushion that supports your foot.
I think it’s important to try and identify other ways that you can exercise–swimming, walking in a pool with water up to your chest are both very safe ways for people that are overweight with lower extremity arthritis to burn calories and increase the metabolism. I think that it’s very important to not go on crash diets, but to make subtle changes in your diet and try to make daily physical activity a part of the way you are going to live your life because with obesity, you have a life-threatening illness and it’s important that you take ownership of it and begin to treat it gently, gradually, and intelligently before it becomes overwhelming.
About Dr. Christensen, M.D.:
Dr. Christian Christensen, M.D., is board certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery and is orthopedic surgeon at Lexington Clinic Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Lexington, Kentucky. He specializes in complex revision and primary hip and knee replacements, minimally invasive joint replacements, joint replacement alternatives, and accelerated rehabilitation following joint replacement.
Visit Dr. Christensen at the Lexington Clinic Orthopedics-Sport Medicine Center