Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42997011›Full record

ArticleJournal of orthopaedic case reports2026

Beyond Weight Loss: Effects of Semaglutide on Knee Pain, Physical Function, and Thigh Skeletal Muscle Volume in Obesity-Associated Knee Osteoarthritis.

Bodla Arvind Kumar, Nithin Sundaresan, Anuragdeep Syal, Mohammed Saleh AlSaifi, B Gokula Krishnan, B Mohanakrishnan

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Article in Journal of orthopaedic case reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Bodla Arvind KumarDepartment of Orthopaedics, Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
Nithin SundaresanDepartment of Orthopaedics, Arunai Medical College, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Anuragdeep SyalDepartment of Orthopaedics, AIIMS, Bathinda, Punjab, India.
Mohammed Saleh AlSaifiDepartment of Orthopaedics, 21 September University for Medical and Applied Sciences, Sanaa, Yemen.
B Gokula KrishnanDepartment of Naturopathy and Yoga, Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India.
B MohanakrishnanDepartment of Naturopathy and Yoga, Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Obesity is an important modifiable risk factor for knee osteoarthritis, contributing to pain, functional limitation, and systemic inflammation. Semaglutide may provide benefits beyond weight reduction, but its effects on clinical and functional outcomes in obesity-associated knee osteoarthritis remain insufficiently characterized. Against this background, this study sought to evaluate the effects of 6-month semaglutide treatment on weight, knee pain, physical function, thigh skeletal muscle volume, and inflammatory markers in patients with obesity-associated knee osteoarthritis. Materials and Methods: This prospective, observational, single-arm study included 75 patients with obesity-associated knee osteoarthritis who received semaglutide and were followed for 6 months. Changes in weight, body mass index (BMI), knee pain assessed by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), physical function assessed using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), thigh skeletal muscle volume, C-reactive protein (CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were evaluated. Results: At the 6-month follow-up, body weight decreased from 101.23 ± 15.45 to 91.47 ± 9.67 kg (mean change -9.76 kg), while BMI decreased from 34.49 ± 3.67 to 31.89 ± 5.78 kg/m2 (-2.60 kg/ m2; both P < 0.001). VAS pain scores decreased from 6.90 ± 2.10 to 4.89 ± 0.73 (-2.01; P < 0.001), and WOMAC scores improved from 59.67 ± 6.47 to 44.60 ± 6.12 (-15.07; P < 0.001). Thigh skeletal muscle volume increased from 10.6 ± 2.3 to 11.1 ± 1.8 L (+0.50 L; P < 0.001). CRP decreased from 6.14 ± 0.73 to 3.91 ± 2.08 mg/L, while ESR decreased from 27.51 ± 3.32 to 19.64 ± 4.37 mm/h. Conclusion: 6 months of semaglutide treatment was associated with substantial weight loss and significant improvements in knee pain and physical function, accompanied by reductions in systemic inflammatory markers. These findings suggest potential benefits of semaglutide beyond weight reduction in obesity-associated knee osteoarthritis. Larger controlled studies with longer follow-up are warranted.

Indexed as

inflammationKnee osteoarthritisobesitysemaglutide

Identifiers

PMID42997011
PMCPMC13740860

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.