SOS Physiotherapy: 3 Easy Steps to Healthy Knees

How Can Physiotherapy Help?

What can I do on my own to keep my knees healthy? While physiotherapy is the most effective form of treatment if you are currently experiencing knee pain, there are some precautions you can take to lower your risk of developing unwanted knee pain and injuries altogether: 1. Stretch your hamstrings, quadriceps, and adductor muscles each day. By keeping these muscles flexible, the forces on your knee joints stay balanced, which allows you to bend and rotate the knee. 2. Keep the muscles around your hips and knees strong, especially the gluteal and quadricep muscles. Studies show that adults (especially those 55 or older) who have stronger gluteal and quadricep muscles tend to have less back pain and a greater ability to perform daily activities. 3. Exercise regularly. While this is good for the whole body, the knees especially need exercise to keep their cartilage healthy. The cartilage does not have much blood supply and requires its nutrition from joint fluid. Most of the joint fluid absorbs into the cartilage only through movement and compression of the knee. Therefore, it is important to do weight bearing exercises, such as walking, running, or playing a sport. However, if you have arthritis, it is advised that you do activities with less of an impact, such as biking, elliptical machines, or aquatic exercises. Are you living with knee pain? If so, don’t hesitate to contact SOS Physiotherapy today. We’ll help relieve your pain so you can get back to living your life comfortably, without limitations!

Our licensed physiotherapists at SOS Physiotherapy will examine your knee for signs of misalignment or structural damage, in addition to examining your stance, posture, gait, and range of motion. After your physical exam is complete, your physiotherapist will prescribe a physiotherapy plan for you, aimed at relieving unnatural stresses and strains, and normalizing your joint function. Treatment plans for knee pain typically include: • Activity modification and manual therapy to allow for appropriate off loading and healing. This may include joint/soft tissue mobilization, custom foot orthotics, over-the-counter bracing, or kinesio taping in the short term, in order to reduce symptoms and open a window to symptom-limited exercise. • Graded strength, dynamic stability, and capacity training targeting the quads, glutes, hamstrings, foot/ankle complex, and core. Strength training of the quads and glutes has been shown to be highly effective with regard to reduction of pain, and it mitigates the risk of recurrence/ flare ups in the future. • Restoring range of motion in the knee. A knee with poor range of motion that is constantly flexed can cause persistent painful symptoms. Restoring range of motion will help it bend easier and ease stress on the knee, thus relieving pain. • Graded exposure to previously painful activities, as gains in strength, tolerance, and capacity allow.

Healthy Recipe Sweet & Sour Cauliflower •5-6 cups cauliflower florets •3 tbsp vegetable oil • 1/3 cup corn starch •3-4 cups steamed rice, for serving •Thinly sliced green onions for garnish •3/4 cup sugar •2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (may sub white vinegar) •1 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp onion salt • 1/4 cup ketchup •1 tbsp cornstarch •2 tbsp cold water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease a baking sheet. Combine cauliflower and oil in a large ziplock bag. Seal and shake to coat cauliflower in the oil. Open the bag, add corn starch, seal bag, and toss to coat again. Transfer coated cauliflower to a greased pan. Bake for 15-20 min until cauliflower starts to brown on the bottoms. Switch oven to broil and cook on high for 3-4 minutes just until tops start to brown. While cauliflower is cooking, prepare the sauce by adding sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic powder, onion salt, and ketchup in a medium sauce pan. Stir and bring to a boil. Whisk together the corn starch and cold water in a small bowl until dissolved. Add to sauce pan and stir until thickened, then reduce to low heat. Combine roasted cauliflower and sauce. Serve with steamed rice and top with sliced green onions.

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