This article published in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatology suggests that overloading and underloading the knee can affect the knee joints, especially if you are overweight. ~ Dr. Broussard
Using cumulative load to explain how body mass index and daily walking relate to worsening knee cartilage damage over two years: The MOST study
Arthritis & Rheumatology — Voinier D, Neogi T, Stefanik JJ, et al. | May 04, 2020
This study was attempted to assess knee overloading and underloading by characterizing cumulative load as the joint impacts of BMI and daily walking, and investigate the association between cumulative load and worsening cartilage damage over 2 years. Researchers applied data from the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study. Steps/day, assessed by accelerometry, and BMI were estimated at the 60‐month visit. This study estimated risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) applying binomial regression, with adjustment for potential confounders. A total of 964 participants were included in the study, 62% of whom were female, with a mean ± SD age of 66.9 ± 7.5 years. This research serves primary evidence that both overloading and underloading may be detrimental to medial tibiofemoral cartilage, and underloading may be detrimental to lateral PF cartilage.