Common Knee Pain and How to Fix It
By Alexis Mills
While your knees are essential to daily movement, having issues with your knees is common among every age group. In order to keep moving it is essential to keep your knees healthy. therefore, you need to understand how they work, how to care for them, and what your pain is trying to tell you. These are the most common knee issues, causes, and how to treat them.
Knee Pain From Growth Spurt
It's common to see adults with knee issues, as well as teenagers, especially if they went through a growth spurt. There is a pulling or pain sensation at the growth plate and can cause loss of muscle flexibility. To fix it, get a foam roller to loosen the muscles around the leg and usr a knee strap to keep pressure off.
Runner's Knee
This is the most common knee pain in young adults, caused by the kneecap rubbing against the femur. Even though the name has "runner" in it, you don't have to be a runner to get this, but it is most common in active people. It causes an ache underneath the kneecap as you go up and down stairs. To fix it, it's important to build the muscles in the leg to keep the patella and femur from rubbing against each other. You can also shorten your walking and running stride to put less force and reduce pain.
Arthritis in the Knees
This is created by the wear and tear of the lining of the point and is most commonly in people over age 50. It can limit activity but sitting down is the worst thing you can do. Moving and strengthening the muscles around the knee can make a huge difference to help with pain.
Exercises to Fix Your Knees
- Squatting from a chair - Using a chair under your squats is a safe way to build the leg muscles to help your knees. Stand in front of the chair, sit back with your arms straight out, lower yourself until you lightly feel the chair, then rise back up.
- Biking - Using the bike at the gym or going on a ride around the neighborhood keeps the hips and knees moving while also building strength.
- Monster walks - Get a resistance band, put it around your ankles, slightly bend your knees, and take small steps sideways. This exercise also builds the muscles, especially on the side of the hip to support the knee.
If your pain is changing the way you move, it is important to get it checked out by a professional. If you don't see improvements in your knee pain, don't wait too long to get it checked out.
To learn more about your health, wellness and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Casa Grande, Ariz.