4 Ways to help decrease knee pain
1.
Low Impact
a.
Low Impact? It is a term often thrown around
when given advice about knee pain, but what does it really mean? Well basically
we want to decrease the amount of force that is applied to the knee and lower
extremities during walking/running that is produced by gravity. Since we cannot
change gravity we must make some other external change. This can be done by
losing weight, changing faulty biomechanics of walking and running, or changing
the type of exercise you do. Running
will have higher impact forces on the lower extremities that cycling for
example. So if running or even walking on cement cause you to have knee pain
then maybe you should try the stationary cycle or elliptical or even swimming.
2.
Weight loss
a.
As mentioned before weight obviously determines the
amount of forces placed upon the knee with all movements. Even from the simplest
of tasks such as walking or standing up, the amount of pressure placed on the
knee is exacerbated when there is excessive weight. The good news is that just
the slightest amount of weight loss (5 lbs) can be statistically significant in
decreasing the amount force directed to the knee. My advice would be to start
slow and easy with just a short term goal of losing 5 lbs in one month or so.
3.
Physical therapy
a.
Physical therapists are known as the movement specialists
among the medical community. By seeing a PT they can help address those
biomechanical faults that could be causing you pain. A Gait analysis and
thorough evaluation by the PT can determine if there are joint restrictions,
muscular imbalances in strength or flexibility, or even if there is an alternate
body part that could actually be the root cause of your knee pain.
4.
Rest
a.
There is a fine line between over training and
under training. Your knee pain could be a result of too much exercise or
walking. And having poor mechanics with walking will only further increase your
pain. It is very important to get adequate rest to allow full muscle recovery
after exercise. May times people have back pain due to long hours of sitting
with little movement due to their job. Well I believe the same can be said to
those who are constantly standing for prolonged periods. While there is no
exact formula on sitting to standing to walking, we can agree that moving frequently
is the most important take home message.
1. Lementowski
PW, Zelicof SB. Obesity and osteoarthritis. American Journal
of Orthopedics.2008;37(3):148–151
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