Knee pain is the second most common musculoskeletal complaint behind back pain. It impacts one-third of all Americans at one time or another – and its prevalence has increased substantially over the last 20 years.
These statistics indicate that it’s more important than ever to find ways to protect your knees as you age – especially if you want to avoid major procedures or surgery.
Here are three tips that myself and my team of specialists share often with our clients – to help them protect their knees as they age:
1. Strengthen your Hips and Core
Your knee joint is situated just below your hips and core. And doctors have found through research that when you have poor control of your upper leg muscles – you get more stress through your knee joint.
The strength of your upper leg muscles is very much dependent on your hip and core strength. Your thigh bone – or femur – connects your knee and your pelvis – and your core strength controls your pelvis. If your pelvis isn’t stable – your femur is going to have a difficult time staying in alignment. This will ultimately have a direct stress on your knee joint – causing it to compensate in some way. Additionally – your outer hip muscles – which include your glute muscles – also play a major role in how well your femur is positioned and stabilized.
2. Mobility before Stability
Mobility before stability is my mantra. And I say this for just about every joint in your body. But it’s especially true for your knees.
There are joints whose primary function is stability – and there are those whose major function is mobility. Your knee needs to be mobile. Its major purpose is to bend all the way so you can squat and pick things up – and it needs to straighten all the way to give you stability when you need it. When either of these motions are lacking – your ligaments and surrounding muscles will suffer.
A lot of folks just “accept” that their knees are stiff – especially if you’ve been told you have arthritis in your knees. The limiting belief is that stiffness is par for the course. But the truth is that if you keep your knees mobile as you age – you can not only maintain the mobility you have but improve what is lacking.
If your knees are stiff – start moving them. The thing to understand about arthritis is that it’s a normal part of aging. Debilitating mobility is not. Even a 10% improvement in your knee mobility – which most people don’t realize – can make a huge difference in your function. This can be the difference between a natural solution to knee pain vs undergoing a major surgery like knee replacement.
3. Work on your Balance
The last joint we need to talk about when it comes to protecting your knees is your ankle. Much like your hips and core – if your ankles aren’t stable enough to help you maintain adequate balance – your knees will suffer.
But another interesting thing about your ankle joint is that poor mobility can also impact your ability to balance.
Let’s say you have stiffness when you squat. Many times this is due to inadequate mobility in your ankles. You’ll know this because you’ll feel a strain in the front of your shins when you try to deeply squat – or you may notice your feet and knees turn in. These are mechanisms your body uses to compensate – which if repeated over and over – will cause problems in your knees.
But how does squatting relate to balance?
Ok… so let’s summarize…
If you want to optimize your knee health as you age – which you still can even if you’ve been told you have “advanced arthritis”…
- 1. Prioritize the mobility of your knees and ankles
- 2. Strengthen your hips and core
- 3. And work on your balance.
Focusing on these three things can have a significant impact on the health of your knees as you age and help you to avoid major surgery – if that’s your goal of course 🙂
Currently suffering from knee pain and want to find out even more ways to help yourself naturally at home?
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Know someone else suffering from knee pain?
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PS – Do you need help NOW? Request a Free Discovery Session with a specialist at my clinic. But please don’t wait as we are getting really busy and we’re about to be operating on a wait list.
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Trupti graduated with a Master’s degree in Physical Therapy from UNC- Chapel Hill in 2001. She has furthered her studies with numerous post-graduate courses focusing on the Neck, shoulder, knee, and back, with a strong emphasis in manual therapy. Recently completed courses in Maitland-Australian Physiotherapy Seminars (Levels 1- 5), has afforded her an excellent way to relieve pain and help people get moving, active and healthy quickly and effectively.
With 20+ years of experience in Physical Therapy, Trupti has practiced in various orthopedic and sports focused clinical settings, in both the Raleigh-Durham, NC and DC regions. She has been Director of multiple Physical therapy Clinics in DC and also worked with some renowned specialists at Georgetown University Hospital in DC. During her years of service, Trupti has had the privilege of caring for a wide variety of clients: from school-aged children to retirees; from homemakers to business professionals; from weekend warriors to professional athletes.
Trupti is an avid fan of the outdoors, art, traveling and of course the Tar Heels. She enjoys spending time with her niece and nephew.
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