This year, more than 700,000 individuals in the United States will undergo knee-replacement surgery, which is nearly double the rate of over a decade ago according to Men’s Journal. Statistics also state that some 14 million Americans are suffering from arthritic knees. Even professional athletes like Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, and Tom Brady suffer with joint pain; in short, if you yourself are suffering from knee pain, you are in good company.
Here are some types on how to reduce and prevent knee pain:
-
Maintain a healthy weight.
While this may seem obvious, maintaining a healthy weight can improve the longevity and health of your joints. For every pound you put on, your knees have four more pounds of force pressing down upon them, this is exacerbated even more when you go up and down stairs.
-
Choose the correct physical activity for you.
While recent studies have shown that running, even long distances, can actually improve your knee health and stave off osteoarthritis according to Newsmax and Men’s Journal, it is important to listen to your body. If you are already experiencing knee pain the impact your knees experience while running can potentially only aggravate the problem. Listen to your body and don’t participate in high impact activities, like running, if you already have knee pain. Activities like biking, swimming, and the elliptical are great low impact alternatives to get active and stay active.
-
Squat, lunge, and perform step ups to improve strength.
It is important to exercise and prepare your knee for regular day-to-day activities, like walking up or down stairs or even using the restroom. Exercises like squats utilize all the muscles around the knee joint including your quadriceps and glutes. If you don’t have any current knee pain, try adding squats to your current workout routine to help prevent knee pain according to certified health specialist Neal Pire. Pire also suggests step ups, an activity similar to walking up the stairs, this exercise helps condition your hip joint and muscles along the ankle in good condition to help support your knee throughout the day. If you’re looking for a way to stay ahead of knee pain, adding lunges, squats, and step ups to your daily workout routine is a great place to start!
-
Strengthen your core and improve your posture.
Proper posture can help significantly reduce the stress placed on your joints and reduce pain. As we get older, we often stop which shifts your body’s center of gravity and places more stress on your knees and hips. Instituting a good core strengthening program can help improve the longevity of your joints. Activities like Yoga, Pilates, tai chi are a great way to work on improving your core strength.
-
Take supplements.
If you are experiencing knee pain, a great way to help is by taking supplements like glucosamine with chondroitin. According to Newsmax, this supplement has been shown to slow down the progression of arthritis. While it doesn’t regrow cartilage, it does work to preserve whatever cartilage does remain.
Please see below resources used in writing this article, for more information on how to prevent knee pain.
https://www.newsmax.com/health/health-news/knees-joints-aging/2020/02/11/id/953574/
https://www.mensjournal.com/features/how-to-save-your-knees-20121206
