Healthy diet offers joint and muscle pain relief beyond weight loss

Australian adults with overweight or obesity reported “far less” joint and muscle pain after improving their diet quality in a three-month intervention. The researchers say the benefits are not explained by weight loss alone — reductions in weight, waist circumference, and body fat did not mediate improvements in pain.

The weight loss study conducted by the University of South Australia included 104 participants. On average, the participants improved their diet quality by 22%, lost 7.1 kg of weight, and reduced chronic musculoskeletal pain from 50% to 24%. 

Lead researcher Sue Ward, Ph.D. candidate, says the results open new doors for pain management strategies. 

“Chronic musculoskeletal pain is one of the most common and debilitating conditions worldwide. While excess weight is often thought to put stress on joints and drive pain, our study shows that what you eat may independently influence chronic pain.” 

“While weight loss helps many people, this study suggests that improving diet quality itself also eases the severity of people’s pain. This is a very hopeful finding for people living with chronic pain.”

Diet quality improvements

The researchers say their findings highlight the power of diet quality in managing health and well-being, challenging assumptions that weight loss is the primary way to reduce chronic pain. 

The study published in the European Journal of Nutrition was a secondary analysis of an earlier weight loss study. By following the Australian Dietary Guidelines, participants reduced their daily energy intake by 30% — from about 9,100 to 5,800 kJ or 2,175 to 1,386 kcal.

After three months of healthy eating, the participants reported less pain, a better pain-related quality of life, and lower pain severity.At baseline and after three months, the researchers measured diet quality, the presence and severity of chronic musculoskeletal pain, pain-related quality of life, weight, waist circumference, and body fat percentage. 

After three months, the participants consumed more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats or alternatives. They also reduced their intake of discretionary foods and alcohol. 

The participants reported less pain, a better pain-related quality of life, and lower pain severity. The researchers say these outcomes were directly linked to their improved diet quality. 

Focus on dietary guidelines

The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend adults be physically active, eat a wide variety of nutritious foods daily, and limit their consumption of foods with saturated fat, added salt, added sugars, and alcohol. 

The guide to healthy eating advises consumers to eat vegetables and legumes/beans, fruit, grain foods, lean protein, and (reduced-fat) dairy every day. 

Co-researcher Dr. Alison Hill says the results reinforce the importance of dietary guidelines. “Eating well isn’t just about long-term disease prevention — it can also have an immediate and tangible impact on how we feel day to day.” 

“This study shows that adopting a healthier diet may lead to meaningful reductions in pain, which improve overall well-being.”

Earlier this year, researchers also linked people with severe chronic pain to more serious deficiencies in vitamins D and B12, folate, and magnesium.