How to prevent and relieve knee pain, a guest post from Harry Wilson

You or someone that you love/know has knee pain. Most of us have experienced knee pain in our lives. Maybe the origin of the knee pain is from arthritis, a past knee surgery, overpronation of the foot, or excessive use of the muscles around the knee”¦you have knee pain and you need knee pain relief; right?.

Did you know that knee arthritis is the largest cause of disability (chronic) in the United States of people who are 65 years old and older?

Most chronic knee pain is avoidable, though. Other knee pain is not. It’s just there and it may already be with us. The key is knowing how to control or treat your knee pain when it arrives, whether temporary or off and on.

Did you know that knee pain relief and knee pain remedy are two of the most searched for terms on Google?

In some cases, physical therapy and exercise (the correct muscles) are just as effective as surgery on the knee. Here’s where we will focus today:

5 Ways to Knee Pain Relief and Prevent from Happening Again

Keep Your Butt Strong and Fit

Many people who suffer from injuries to the ACL (anterior crucial ligament) and tears do so because they lack sufficient toning and strength in their hip muscles. This happens often when people try to play sports after a long time of not exercising but jump right into a competitive situation.

As a culture our butts are weak. We’re sedentary. We sit around a lot. We like television. With weak butts or pelvis drops slightly and the hip bones go inward causing an imbalance. That’s bad for the knees and that spells injury.

Stretch all the Muscles around the Knee

With weak butt muscles, it tends to make us want to sit for longer periods. At that point, the muscles around your knee like the hamstrings, hip abductors, and other muscles above and around the knee work too much. This compresses the knee the bones and muscles around the knee, making them stiff and more likely to sever or tear. By stretching these muscles and ligaments our knees remain limber and less prone to injury.

Keep Your Core Fit and Strong

When your core (lower back, hips, and abdominals) are weak, it causes your pelvis to till inward, or forward. This results in excessive low back curvature and shifting leg bones. By strengthening your core you’ll keep the rest of the body inline and stress off of your knees. A strong core equals knee pain relief.

Maintain a Healthy (Healthier) Weight

When your weight is healthier it not only makes your heart better and you look better but it also means that, as a man, your 5 times more likely to develop osteoarthritis in the knees. If you decrease your weight just by 8% to 10% then you could increase your knee function by more than 25%! For women it’s similar: For every 11 pounds a woman loses, she will decrease her knee arthritis chance by 50%. Whoa!

Why is this? More fat means less muscle which ties into the first 3 bullet points we talked about: Fit core, strong butt, and stretching muscles around the knee. The more that you weigh than the more weight that is stressing the knee and that results in knee pain and injuries.

Keep Your Feet Healthy

This is for you, ladies! High heels look great but they add compression and strain on your knee by 23% and that causes knee pain. You also end up with tight, over-used calf muscles when you wear high heels which results in more knee pain because it causes over-pronation of the foot. Take care of your knees, and get relief from the pain by wearing and using the flat shoes!

Bio:

Harry Wilson

I’m the author of www.goodhealthplanning.com. Whether it’s workout routines, diet ideas, or a guide to the equipment you need, we’ll help you get in the best shape possible. Follow my twitter: @ghealthplanning