The knee is one of the body’s most complicated joints. It is most likely to take on excessive physical stress over the years, owing to our unique form of habitual bipedalism. We do a lot of walking throughout our years, which can wear down the cartilage between the thigh and shinbone and eventually lead to knee pain. Knee pain can be debilitating, making even simple tasks like walking or climbing stairs difficult. However, there is hope for relief. By following the tips in this article, you can discover effective ways to alleviate knee pain and regain mobility. Read on to learn more about how to find knee pain relief.
Furthermore, years of sedentary living, which is becoming more common in the human condition, can weaken the muscles of the thighs, hips, and feet, affecting the ankles, knees, and hip joints by increasing the amount of stress and weight they need to carry.
It’s no wonder about 15 million Americans experience severe joint pain at some point in their lives, often in the knee. Thankfully, knee pain relief is attainable. Unfortunately, finding the right knee pain relief is almost impossible without a professional diagnosis. Here’s what you need to know.
Risk Factors for Knee Pain
Knee pain is most often caused by wear and tear facilitated by aging. Growing older does several things to the joints:
- With age comes experience. More time on this Earth generally means walking and moving around, which can wear out the knees.
- Aging correlates with a greater level of dehydration in the cartilage. This weakens it, making it harder for the body to absorb the shock and stress of locomotion.
- As they age, people begin to slow down and become less active. This can exacerbate knee pain.
Other risk factors for increased knee pain include a sedentary lifestyle, excessive physical labor (construction, plumbing, working as a farmhand, etc.), smoking, alcohol use, obesity, and osteoporosis. However, knee pain can also be a secondary symptom for other conditions, ranging from general inflammation to over a hundred different types of arthritis, a benign growth in the leg, neuropathy, and bursitis.
General advice can help you combat pain. But it should always be a priority to contact a doctor and get a proper check-up for your knee.
Make a Few Key Adjustments
Knee pain is often made worse by sitting around too much – especially if your legs tend to rest with your knee at a 90-degree angle.
Adjust your seat or habitually extend and stretch your legs every few minutes. Use a smaller water container or cup to force yourself to get up more often, or set a timer (no more than half an hour) and stand up whenever it rings, even if only for a minute.
If you work from home or in an office, consider requesting or investing in a standing desk setup. If you are retired, pick up a hobby that keeps you on your feet, preferably one you can perform without recurring pain.
Drink more water. If you aren’t a frequent water drinker, to begin with, then one of the exacerbating factors for your knee pain may be dehydration. Our cartilage thrives on water, and when dry, it is more likely to crack and wear down.
The Importance of Footwear for Knee Pain Relief
Suitable footwear can make a difference for your knees, ankles, hips, and back, especially if you are active. Soft soles might be comfortable for your feet but can worsen pain due to their general instability and lack of proper support. Talk to your doctor about proper footwear to address your specific joint complaints.
Similarly, high heels can generally exacerbate the postural issues that worsen knee pain. They place the hips, knees, ankles, and lower back in unusual and uncomfortable positions, change your natural weight distribution throughout the lower body, and can significantly place undue stress on your back and knees. You may want to drop the heels if you experience knee pain.
Sleeping Habits for Knee Pain Relief
Consider putting a pillow between your legs if you sleep on your side. This keeps one knee from resting on the other, which can be painful over long periods. This can also help with morning back pains.
If you tend to sleep on your back, a pillow under your knees helps relieve your lower back from tension and keeps your legs from overextending or locking up.
Build Stronger Legs
Exercise is one of the best remedies for knee and joint pain. But it is also one of the most complicated remedies.
It isn’t as easy as hitting the gym or asking advice from a certified personal trainer with no medical background knowledge, especially if you’ve been dealing with knee pain for a long time.
More muscular leg and core muscles can reduce the stress on your joints while decreasing your body fat through exercise lessens the physical pressure on your knees during day-to-day activities. But knee pain and most joint pain must be addressed through a carefully individualized exercise plan.
Don’t Underestimate Mobility
Many physical therapists will talk about strengthening and stiffening the body, especially around the core—anti-rotation, anti-flexion, anti-extension – building a stable pillar for the spine, and so on.
However, stiffer isn’t always better, and depending on the joint and its injuries, creating solid and flexible muscles may ward off pain more successfully, especially in the knee.
Static stretching can help here, but it won’t improve the length or flexibility of your muscles. You cannot lengthen a tendon or a muscle without considerable resistance – but static and dynamic stretches can temporarily relieve pain and improve mobility.
Instead, many mobility exercises focus on moving through a limited range of motion with little weight and gradually increasing the load and the range of motion within tolerable levels, creating strength through various positions with professional load management.
Like learning how to squat deeper over time by increasing the level of depth, you get to and increase the weight on your back – small steps, with session-for-session improvements and minor changes.
But just like how there are exercises that can make your knee pain worse, and exercises that can help make it better, it’s essential to consult a medical professional before trying out any mobility or flexibility regimen. The last thing you want is to make things worse, which brings us to an important point.
Avoid Taking Advice About Knee Pain Relief from Strangers Online
As contradictory as it might seem to proffer this advice at the end of a post on pain management, it is essential to note that any proper pain management plan will be wholly individual and should be developed by a medical professional – more specifically, your medical professional.
Listen to what your doctor says based on their experience with your case and other similar knee pain patients. Look for specialists in your area who utilize non-surgical treatment plans to improve and remedy joint pain.
Some general advice is always worth following – such as not sitting down for extended periods, watching what you eat, and being more active rather than less. But the specifics can differ significantly, depending on a patient’s circumstances and needs. In other words, your mileage may vary.
If you’re experiencing knee pain and searching for effective treatment options, consider visiting Pain Management and Injury Relief. Our experienced doctors specialize in knee pain relief treatments such as epidural steroid injections, facet block injections, trigger point injections, and viscosupplementation. We’ll work with you to identify the underlying cause of your pain and develop a personalized treatment plan to help you find long-lasting relief.
Take the First Step Towards Pain-Free Living Today
