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Six Steps to Ease Painful, Achy Knees
From Harvard Medical School
Knees and Hips: A Troubleshooting Guide to Knee and Hip Pain
Knees and hips must bear your full body weight while allowing for a
wide range of motion, making them susceptible to injury and arthritis.
This report covers a wide range of knee and hip conditions and
describes treatments and preventive strategies. Hip and knee
replacement surgeries are also covered in detail.
The achy, balky knee: Everyone seems to have one at some time or
another. To make sure you know what to do if your knees act up, here
are six tips on how to prevent knee problems or treat them while
they're mild.
Stay active. The
knee was made to bear weight, but wasn't designed to go it alone.
Strong, flexible leg muscles take a great deal of pressure off this
joint. That means exercise is key to healthy knees. And there's a bonus
- exercising your knee causes synovial tissue in the joint to produce
synovial fluid, which lubricates the knee and nourishes cartilage.
Easy does it. Take
it slowly when starting an exercise program. Too many people try to
reform overnight, only to injure themselves or get discouraged when the
exercise seems too difficult or boring. They stop and are right back
where they started - sitting around getting creaky.
Simple is the solution.
You don't need to buy expensive treadmills or contraptions. To get
started, all most people need is a good pair of walking shoes, a level
surface (the mall, a high school track, a well-maintained sidewalk),
and, the hardest part of all, some willpower.
Walk in water.
Especially if you have osteoarthritis, walking in water is a great way
to exercise your knee without putting too much weight on it. Chest-high
water reduces the weight on your knee by about 75%. Biking also
exercises knees - and the quadriceps - without putting weight on them.
Price is right.
The traditional recipe for treating a knee that swells up and gets sore
is RICE: rest, ice, compression (wrapping it in an elastic bandage, but
not too tightly), and elevation (which drains away fluid and blood).
Physical therapists have added protection as a first step, so RICE
becomes PRICE. Physical therapists can help you identify activities
that contribute to the problem and show you ways to avoid injuries in
the future.
Do the homework.
If you try physical therapy, you'll probably be put on an exercise
program - and get coaching to help you stick with it. Physical therapy
works best if the patient follows through by learning the exercises and
doing them at home.
Understanding Common Knee Problems
Bursitis.
Bursae are thin sacs that pad your joints and bony outcroppings,
reducing friction between the movable parts. You can get bursitis from
banging your knee or putting pressure on it. Bursitis is best treated
with PRICE and pain relievers.
Tendonitis.
Tendons attach muscle to bone. They're designed to move and stretch,
but if overused or stretched too far, they become inflamed.
Bursitis and tendonitis feel much the same.
But the location of the discomfort is different and bursitis, unlike
tendonitis, hurts even when you aren't moving your knee. The treatment
for the flare-ups is the same - PRICE.
Osteoarthritis. Cartilage
covers the end of the thighbone (femur) and the back of the kneecap.
The two crescent-shaped menisci that provide the padding between your
femur and your shinbone are made of fibrocartilage, which is tougher
and more rubbery than the hyaline cartilage that covers the ends of
bones. When that cartilage starts to break down, pit or decay, the
result is osteoarthritis. If pain from osteoarthritis flares up, follow
PRICE.
For more information on common knee conditions and treatments and
preventive strategies for your knees and hips, order our special health
report Knees and Hips: A Troubleshooting Guide to Knee and Hip Pain www.health.harvard.edu/KH.
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