Knee pain can be excruciating if you do not know to fix it properly.
It prevents you from being active with your usual daily activities like walking, climbing stairs, squatting, or doing heavy lifting loads.
Without proper treatment, this common type of orthopedic condition can be with you for a long time.
What are the best exercises for knee pain relief? What type of food to eat and avoid?
Can we stop this knee pain?
Let’s get into it.
Should You Do Exercise With Knee Pain?
Is it better that you rest or move with knee pain?
The answer is ‘do NOT rest too much’ when having knee pain.
You are advised to keep the joints moving with some gentle exercises to increase flexibility such as cycling with a recumbent exercise bike, stretching exercise, walking on a treadmill, elliptical machines, aquatic aerobics, or, even tai-chi exercise.
I mean this is much better than sitting there doing nothing and hoping for your medical treatment to cure it. You need to move your knee often to prevent it from becoming stiffer, as this may lead to worse pain and eventually lessen your daily activities.
Exclude running, jumping, deep squats, or other extreme exercises that put too much stress on your knee joints. I can tell you that all these exercises will worsen your knee pain or injury if done in excess.
What Are The Best Exercises For Knee Pain Relief?
These knee exercises can be done anywhere, anytime from your home and not much weight is required.
It helps to strengthen the knees and gives you healthier knee joints. Perform at least 3 sets with each 10 to 15 reps.
1. Wall sit. Good for stronger quadriceps which play a crucial role in absorbing shock.
2. Donkey kicks. Good for stronger glutes.
3. Hamstring stretching. Good for stronger hip flexors and core.
4. Glute bridges. The name says it all, good for strengthening the glute which reduces the stress on the knee by offloading the stress to the glute.
5. Sit down and stand up with a chair. Do you know chair workouts work terrific on glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and core?
6. Butt kicks. This one is a good warmup for any exercise routine. Your knee joint is warming up by moving and loosening up.
What Is The Faster Way To Relieve Knee Pain? Can You Stop Knee Pain?
Follow these simple home remedies tips and you should be fine. Get help from your doctor if the symptoms persist.
1. Use the ice pack (wrapped in a thin cloth) as it does help to reduce pain and inflammation at the same time. Even though it is generally safe and effective therapy, do NOT use it for more than 15 minutes as it may damage the skin and nerves.
2. Fill the hot water bottle with hot water and put it on the knee. It will temporarily relieve the pain.
3. A lightweight, breathable bandage is a good compression to prevent fluid buildup from the damaged tissues around the knee pain. The bandage should be tightened properly to support the knee without interrupting the blood circulation in the affected pain area.
4. If you just having minor knee pain, take a day or two rest from your normal routines to reduce further stress on the knee. It gives time to heal back and avoid further damage.
5. Have your knee elevated if the pain is bothering you at night. When you are lying on a bed, put a pillow below your heel, not below the knee. This will keep the knee straight and prevent further swelling.
Is Walking Regularly Good For Knee Pain?
Yes, walking daily if you can, helps a lot for knee pain recovery.
How it can help?
1. Walking will relieve the stiffness by stretching the muscles around the knee joint. As you walk more, the pain will slowly fade away.
2. The stress on the knee joint will go down as the muscles are strengthened and take the stress off the joint, as you walk with the right shoes and surfaces.
3. Improve balance and avoid falls as you walk regularly. Your pelvis and spine are aligned and good posture is maintained.
4. Walking helps strengthen the bones that form the knee joint. For individuals with osteoarthritis, any kind of weight-bearing exercise like walking will help to rebuild the damaged joint cartilage.
Why Are The Knees Hurt When Climbing Stairs?
Our knee movement is broken into three major bones which are the femur (thigh bone), tibia (shin bone), and, patella (kneecap). They must work together to support your body weight and control the fluid leg movement.
As we walk, the cartilage which cushions and lubricates the joint when damaged, may not cause knee pain.
It is the climbing motion that gives the knee more stress, causing the pain to increase as the positioned kneecap are now sliding up and down, and out of position, due to the damaged cartilage being no longer able to keep the kneecaps in its position.
Are Climbing Stairs Up Down Will Have Bad Effects On The Knee?
It depends on each individual or if having any medical condition.
Elderly people with joint or bone relating diseases like osteoarthritis might have greater adverse effects. Healthy and younger individuals with a wealth of knowledge on posture and physical activities are not prone to encounter this problem.
Obese or overweight people when climbing stairs will give extra weight to the knee on every step they are climbing. This will also result in sooner pain in the knee. So it is not recommended to climb a lot of stairs for them.
Overall, this climbing stairs episode may come naturally as a person is aging, but with proper regular exercise, it can also be prevented.
However, for those who are affected and have no choice but need to climb the stairs (for whatever reasons it may be), the RULE is to climb up with the good knee and climb down with the bad knee!
How Can You Strengthen The Knees Naturally?
There are ways to keep your muscles knee stronger naturally and this will also support the ligaments around the knee.
Do some stretching warm-up when you are doing any exercises.
Always start your exercise by simply doing a few minutes of stretching such as:
* aquatic activities such as swimming (backstrokes), water aerobics, or kicking laps with a swim board.
* knee extension (10 reps on each leg with 3 sets).
* knee flexion (10 reps on each leg with 3 sets).
* wall squats (5 – 10 times).
* heel and calf raise (10 reps on each leg with 3 sets).
The above knee stretching techniques are very simple and easy to do, just don’t overstretch the muscles than they are ready to or will cause the pain.
Make it a habit 2 – 3 times a week together with your regular fitness routines.
Why Do I Feel Cold On My Knees Sometimes?
This could be due to the current weather or atmosphere around you.
You could also be stressed or the temperature outside dropped. The blood flow from your heart to the body will decrease which generally will influence your knee too.
Or your body positioning is not well distributed adequately for proper blood circulation. You can reposition your body so as not to compress the circulation.
Moreover, the cold knee (cap area) is better than the warm knee because if it is warm, it could be telling you signs of inflammation.
Can I Wear A Knee Brace To Reduce Knee Pain?
A knee brace is good for supporting knee stability to recover, ease the pain and reduce the risk of further injury.
Wearing it or not depends on why the knee is hurting or what causes it to hurt?
You can wear a knee brace or knee support after your doctor had diagnosed your knee pain. They can recommend the correct knee brace to wear.
A good knee brace should have good elastic straps for maximum compression, adjustable both top and bottom straps for easy fitting, can support the knee patella, and is breathable.
It should be comfortable to wear without irritating the skin and the neoprene material should give the joints and ligaments a warming sensation through compression.
Physicians also recommended osteoarthritis patients wear a knee brace for pain relief.
What Type Of Food Can Make Your Knees Stronger?
Get this food and incorporate it into your diet plan for maximizing stronger knees.
1. Nuts and seeds. Absolute high in Omega-3 fatty acids which are important nutrients for your body. Almonds, walnuts, pumpkins, sunflowers, and flax seeds contain these good Omega-3 fatty acids.
2. Fish. If you like this major source of Omega-3s, then it’s good news for you.
3. Fruits. Blueberries, pineapple, and apple, to name a few, are good sources of antioxidants and are effective in fighting inflammation inside the body.
4. Green vegetables. (#Ad)Brocolli and cauliflower contain enzymes that are vital to prevent swelling in the knee joints.
5. Extra virgin olive oil. This olive oil extract contains unsaturated healthy fat with less risk of inflammation.
Not only these foods are good for your knees but your body’s overall health.
What kind of food to avoid if you have knee pain?
Stay out of these foods as they could trigger knee pain.
1. Processed and canned food. Typically contains a high amount of Omega-6 acids and Trans-fats which could cause inflammation and knee joint pain.
2. Omega-6 fatty acids. Instead of taking Omega-3 fatty acids, having an over amount of Omega-6 acids such as peanuts and corn are bad for your body. This may lead to inflammation and knee joint pain.
3. Salt. This is proven bad if taking in an excess amount such as sodium. Not only it will cause high blood pressure and water retention in the body but also irritation and swelling of the joints.
4. Sugar. The fact that sugar or any other sugar substances are pro-inflammation. All the processed and non-natural sugar products such as sodas, candies, and sweet bakeries are tempting BUT could spike the (#Ad)blood sugar level and trigger inflammation.
5. Milk and dairy products. Consuming too much high-fat dairy like cheese or salted butter can trigger inflammation and arthritis disease. Besides, it can also cause health-threatening issues such as heart-related diseases.
Besides all the above, smoking (tobacco) has been proven as the major cause of Rheumatoid arthritis among smokers. So it is best to avoid tobacco as it is not friendly to your joints in long term.
My Overall Verdict: What Are The Best Exercises For Knee Pain Relief
Knee pain is mainly caused by
1) incorrect exercise forms,
2) the weakened muscles centered around the hip and knee,
3) having arthritis for years, or
4) knee stiffness.
You should get proper consultation from your physical therapist who will do an evaluation, recommend a treatment program, and address the factors causing your knee pain.
This article is solely for educational purposes only and the treatment or remedies suggested here may or may not work for individuals.
If you are suffering from knee pain or arthritis for a long time or may have sustained a knee injury, it is best to get advice from your doctor who is qualified to diagnose your case and recommend a proper treatment for your knee.
Leave me a comment if you have and I will speed back within 24 hours.
Have An Awesome Home Exercise!
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