Every lost pound equals four-pound load reduction on your knees.  
 
Let's face it: aging is inevitable, but the pain that most people associate with getting older is not.

You can't totally eliminate pain, but it isn't too late to take some pre-emptive measures.

"Your approach to making changes should be gradual," said Ziya Altug,  a UCLA physical therapist and author The Anti-Aging Fitness Prescription. "A lifetime of habits isn't going to be erased in one day."

According to March's UCLA Medical Center's Healthy Years, when older adults complain about pain, their discomfort generally starts with weight-bearing joints, particularly the knees.

With every step, you place tremendous stress on your knees, but  you can reduce that load one pound at a time. For every pound of weight lost, there is a four-pound reduction in the load placed on the knee joint with each step, according to Arthritis & Rheumatism journal.

The accumulated reduction in knee load for a one-pound loss in weight would be more than 4,800 pounds per mile walked. Lose 10 pounds and your knees would be subjected to 48,000 less pounds of pressure per mile.

Losing the weight 

There are, of course, many ways to lose weight, which may overwhelm you if you're overweight. Altug suggests that you don't look at the big picture, but lose the weight gradually.

For example, if you can consume 250 fewer calories a day and burn 250 calories more than usual, that's 500 calories a day, or 3,500 calories in seven days - for one pound of weight. You can do the math to figure out how long it will take you and how many calories you'll have to burn to lose more weight.

What's more, Altug says, strength, aerobic, and stretching activities for as little as 30 minutes a day can get you on your way to exorcising the discomfort. Stretching exercises - arm raises, side bends, wall squats, calf raises, sitting knees-to-chest, and those included in yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi - can  improve your flexibility and range of motion, both of which may lessen pain, Altug added.

Furthermore, walking, biking, swimming, dancing and low-impact sports can benefit your heart, lungs and muscles. Stronger muscles support weakened joints and can reduce or eliminate the pain, Altug says.

The role of supplements

The supplements chondroitin and glucosamine, may help you if you have moderate to severe osteoarthritis. Taking 1,500 mg daily of glucosamine and 1,200 mg of chondroitin was proven effective in a government-sponsored study published in 2006.

Ask your doctor if its okay to try glucosamine/chondroitin supplements. The pills don't work for everyone, and it will take at least a month for you to determine if they are going to be effective, Altug says.

"These anti-pain approaches, in addition to over-the-counter medications like aspirin and ibuprofen, are proven and inexpensive," Altug says. "More aggressive strategies - prescription drugs and surgery, for example - should not be used until your doctor has determined that you need something more than weight loss, exercise or supplements.

"There is no reason to accept the pain associated with aging. You can be relatively pain-free if you aggressively implement a pain prevention and control program."

Other causes of pain

But in some cases, aches are tell-tale signs of a disease or side effect from medication, according to March's Mayo Clinic Health Letter. 

Check with a doctor when:

• aches have lasted more than a month;

• aching is intense or interferes with normal activities;

• morning stiffness lasts more than an hour;

• aching has come on suddenly with no obvious cause.

Some of the causes of pain include:

• Polymyalgia rheumatica, which causes widespread, moderate to severe joint stiffness and muscle aching in  the neck, shoulders and hips. Symptoms are usually worse in the morning.

• Infections, which can cause aches that usually go away once the bacterial or viral infection is gone.

• Rheumatoid arthritis, which, along with other forms of inflammatory arthritis, are autoimmune diseases that affect your immune system, causing inflammation and tissue damage, particularly in the joints.

• Depression, which often strikes people coping with chronic pain. Unfortunately, the depression makes the pain worse. 

• Cholesterol-lowering, statin medications, which sometimes includes muscle pain and weakness as side effects. To reduce pain, the patient may need to learn other ways to manage cholesterol levels.

• Underactive thyroid, which is most common in women over 60. The condition occurs when the gland doesn't produce enough of the hormone thyroxine. Symptoms include constant fatigue, muscle aches and an inability to stay warm in cooler environments.

• Vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D is produced by the skin when its exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D supplements can ease pain.

• Fibromyalgia, which causes widespread muscle and soft tissue pain and tenderness, especially in the trunk, neck and shoulders.

Sources: Belvoir Medical Group, Mayo Clinic
References: UCLA Medical Center's Healthy Years, Mayo Clinic Health Letter

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