Can Weight Loss Drugs Treat Joint Pain?

As seen in U.S. News & World Report, Assistant Professor of Clinical Specialties Eleanor Yusupov, D.O., lent her insight to an article about the relationship between GLP-1 weight-loss drugs and arthritis relief. As she explains, GLP-1 medications are generating interest as a potential method of easing joint pain, but largely through indirect processes.

“Patients often report remarkable improvement in their knee and other joint pain caused by osteoarthritis when they lose weight,” says Yusupov, an obesity medicine physician. However, she notes that joint pain improvement is most likely driven by weight loss, reducing stress on joints—not because the drugs directly “treat” arthritis itself.

She also notes that this weight loss also comes with some risks, including loss of some lean muscle mass, which is key because muscle plays a critical role in stabilizing joints, especially for those with arthritis, whose cartilage may be compromised.