Lifestyle tips

I think bodies are a very individual thing, so nobody else can say for sure how things will be for hour wife.

I have seen quite a number of women over the years comment that at 270-280 type weight they had still felt they could do anything if more slowly and with more fatigue.... but that by 330 or so they really found that pain, fatigue, or injury was limiting what they could do. That is purely anecdotal, and I'm sure other women have found "the line" at other weights. Still, it makes me think that the odds are reasonable that losing some weight might make a big difference for your wife.

All the same, to do as well as possible at her current weight I'd suggest very cushioned shoes, regular calf and thigh stretches (you can help with some of them), calf and thigh massage (you must help with those!), and as much as possible avoid standing for long on hard surfaces.

All of that is about cushioning shocks so that her joints don't get jolts as well as have to carry her weight.

One thing for cushioning, suggested to me when dealing with recurring planar fasciatis is wearing "Crocs" at home. Not the most elegant, but good support and cushioning.

As for stretching....google is you friend. Spend some time searching and you should get ideas.

Good luck to her -- pain is no fun at all :-( (as a fellow FA I know it will be hard to see her get smaller, if she does, but having her feel better should totally be worth it. A fatbody in motion >> a fatterbody stuck on the couch)

I don't know if this is relatable, since I'm under that 270-280 line mentioned above (but not by much! 260 atm), but I started having foot pain after I crossed 250, and have alleviated it by doing the following:

1. Walking. It's a low impact exercise, and doing it regularly keeps me with enough muscle to better support my joints. The movement alone is good for them, as also mentioned above. If I run into more pain as I gain I plan on doing some strength training/lifting to help my body hold the extra weight without it all falling on my joints to handle.

2. Crocs has started making shoes you can wear in public. They have wedges, flats, and mary jane styles that are extremely comfy, and what I wear to work most days (which I walk to, and the shoes are great for that, too).

So basically I'm just echoing what the guys have said above, but hopefully it's still helpful!

Joint pain can come from different sources. For knees, Glucosamine can help. For the back, swimming can help to stretch things out. However back pain can be alleviated by strengthening muscles in the core. Hip joints can be loosened up through stretching. Losing weight may help but there are lots of skinny folk with pain too, as they get older.