Does your weight affect the health of your tendons?

The purpose of this study was to investigate the following.

Do patients with obesity have a greater risk of tendinopathy in both the upper and lower extremities compared to patients who do not have obesity?

Is obesity associated with a higher risk of upper and lower extremity tendon tear and ruptures?

Is obesity associated with an increased risk of complications after upper and lower extremity tendon surgery?

The researchers reviewed 22 studies which included 49,914 participants (Machii M, et, al., 2020).

They found that obesity is associated with a higher risk of tendinopathy, tendon tear and rupture, and complications after tendon surgery when compared to patients without obesity.

It may seem logical that the weight would only affect the tendons of the lower extremities because they would be exposed to more stress, but that was not the case. This means it is the altered biochemistry that makes the difference since overweight promotes chronic low-grade inflammation.

Reference:
Marina Macchi, Matteo Spezia, Silvia Elli, Gabriele Schiaffini, Emanuele Chisari, Obesity Increases the Risk of Tendinopathy, Tendon Tear and Rupture, and Postoperative Complications: A Systematic Review of Clinical Studies, Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2020 Aug;478(8):1839-1847.