If you suffer from chronic knee pain due to being overweight, the obvious thing you can do to reduce your knee pain is to lose weight. Easier said than done, right? While losing weight is an effective way to reduce knee pain, there are treatments available that can also help provide you with pain relief. Here are a few treatment recommendations for knee pain that you can incorporate into your daily life and your weight loss regimen. 

Corticosteroid Joint Injections

You can get corticosteroid joint injections at an orthopedic doctor's office. The injections are also called cortisone shots and help to relieve pain and inflammation in the knee, elbow, hip, shoulder, and many other joints throughout your body. Before having a corticosteroid joint injection, your orthopedic doctor will need to order some imaging of your inflicted knee(s) to see what amount of damage there is to the cartilage. The reason for this is because too many corticosteroid joint injections may damage the cartilage, so the injections are rather limited. 

Exercise & Physical Therapy 

Your orthopedist will order physical therapy for you. The physical therapist will teach you some exercises that you can do at home to help you strengthen your knees and keep your knees moving so they don't get stiff. Your orthopedist will give your physical therapist a protocol of various exercises and motility training to do for your knee. If you are also working with someone in the gym to lose weight, share the protocol with your weight loss trainer as well so he or she can adjust your workout regimen, if necessary. 

It's important that you be active and use your knees and other joints. Using your joints will prevent them from getting stiff, which can add to the pain you are already experiencing. Exercising and stretching will help your muscles and tissue surrounding the area provide support for your joints.

Over-the-Counter & Prescription Medications

Depending on the severity of your knee pain, your orthopedic doctor may recommend trying some over-the-counter pain relievers or provide you with prescription medication instead. Whichever option is recommended for you, be sure to follow the dosage recommendations of the medication as you reduce your weight during your weight-loss journey. The dosage you were prescribed may need to be changed after you lose several pounds of body weight. Combining weight loss with pain-relieving treatments can get you on the road to recovery but you need to do it carefully. 

If you are experiencing chronic knee pain, you can get professional help by consulting with orthopedic doctors near you.