For many people, knee pain can be a way of life, limiting their ability to climb stairs, squat down to get something off the floor, enjoy long walks, shopping and a host of other daily activities. The knee joint is one of the most complicated joints in the body and has to bear up to 6 times your body weight with running or jumping. This incredible joint has to move over a million times each year and over 80 million times over a lifetime. This is also the reason why things can go wrong, causing injury and pain.
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INSIDE: 3 Easy Steps To Healthy Knees Improve Sports Performance
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For many people, knee pain can be a way of life, limiting their ability to climb stairs, squat down to get something off the floor, enjoy long walks, shopping and a host of other daily activities. The knee joint is one of the most complicated joints in the body and has to bear up to 6 times your body weight with running or jumping. This incredible joint has to move over a million times each year and over 80 million times over a lifetime. This is also the reason why things can go wrong, causing injury and pain. Just like taking care of your heart, your joints need attention to maintain a healthy state. Here are easy ways for you to take care of your knees, avoiding arthritis and other joint problems: Stretch your hamstrings, quadriceps and adductor muscles each day. By keeping these muscles flexible, the forces on your knee joints can be balanced, allowing your joint to bend, rotate and for your patella (kneecap) to track properly. Keep the muscles around your hips and knees strong. Especially the gluteals and quadriceps muscles. Studies show that those adults, especially over 55 who have stronger gluteals and quadriceps, tend to have less back pain and more ability to do daily activities. 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 exercise such as walking, running and other sports. However, if you have arthritis, it is advised to do less impact activities such as biking, elliptical machines, aquatic exercises, etc. Having a regular medical checkup ensures that your joints are working at their peak performance. In addition, any problems will be discovered early, preventing the onset of arthritis and joint injury. If you do have arthritis or have had surgery, then a regular medical check up is especially important. If your attention is on that sore knee, then it is time you called us for a knee joint analysis. Talk to one of our medical professionals today and see how much better life can be with freely moving knees. 3 Easy Steps To Healthy Knees
Ben McCormack, PT, CEO
“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Thomas A. Edison Quote of The Month:
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Sports Performance I M P R O V I N G Whether you are a high school athlete or just like to exercise for fun, improving your body’s ability to exercise is a good challenge. While there are many different ways to train for your particular sport, including nutrition, we are going to focus on improving your joint performance and stability. This will allow you to run longer, cut faster, and throw better.
Joint Stability Improve your sports ability through joint stability. When a joint is more stable, muscles can function better. For knees, ankles and hips try balance exercises on uneven surfaces such as foam or a folded towel. Try standing on one leg while doing small knee bends. Joint Flexibility Joints need to be flexible in order to move through their proper range and allow muscles to pull correctly. For many people who are runners, stretching must be done every day to maintain muscle and tissue elasticity. Dynamic stretching is often best, where the stretch is done in a moving fashion, such as in Yoga. This is different than a prolonged stretch.
Joint Strength Incorporate strengthening exercises into your sports routines. This is especially important for runners and weekend warriors. A little strengthening exercise can go a long way to prevent sports injuries and soreness. The stronger your muscles are around your joints, the better ability you have to play and avoid injury. Joint Coordination You have an inherent sense of where your joints are in space (proprioception) and how they are moving in space (kinesthetic sense). This allows your brain to coordinate the muscle movements around your joints. By improving your balance and coordination with specific exercises, you greatly reduce the chance of injury and will enhance your sports performance.
If you would like to enhance your ability to run, play sports and prevent injury, then talk to one of our specialists today.
Your Diagnosis Does Not Define You By Nic Tremblay, PTA
9 Come Back In For A Consultation Whether you want to come in for a check-up, suffered a recent injury or you want to improve your health, you can choose the physical therapy practice you want! Come back to Northern Physical Therapy for a consultation today! See our physical therapists for: • Recent injury • Nagging aches and pains • Back and neck pain • Joint pain and movement problems • Walking or balance difficulties CALL TODAY! (802) 626-4224 8 1 4 4 7 8 1 4 3 6 8 5 7 5 4 1 4 2 4 3 9 7 2 http://1sudoku.com While approaching this subject I find my thoughts continuously drift back to a specific person from my past. When thinking of diagnoses, this guy had more than his fair share. Among them were heart palpitations, hyperkyphosis (this forced him into a hunched position), and various respiratory issues just to name a few. Being a high school student and navigating the treacherous terrain of adolescence didn’t make things any simpler for him. It would have been quite easy for this young man to say “I am hyperkyphotic”. Can you see where this is going? Are you visualizing a shy and reclusive teenager wishing that he wasn’t afflicted with all of these issues that he didn’t ask for? If so, you would be absolutely incorrect in that assumption. The thing about this guy was that even though his issues were plain to see, nobody really seemed to notice them, least of all him. His sense of humor, good nature, and self-assuredness shone brightly despite everything that ailed him. One pitfall that can trip up even the best of us is the knee-jerk reaction to mentally set parameters on oneself after a diagnosis is given. Many diagnoses are associated with stereotypes and it is very easy to fall prey to these ideas. For example, some believe that people who have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia cannot exercise or perform physically demanding tasks. The reality is that exercising within one’s tolerance is far more beneficial than no exercise at all. In fact, Daniel Clauw, MD, professor of anesthesiology and medicine at the University of Michigan states, “Exercise is one of the most effective treatments for fibromyalgia...it benefits all of the symptoms of fibromyalgia including pain, fatigue, and sleep problems.”
It’s estimated that approximately 27 million Americans are afflicted with osteoarthritis. This is a disorder in which the bones of joints begin to wear and tear. This degeneration can be painful and limiting if not properly dealt with. One may think “I’ve got bone wearing in my knees and it doesn’t feel good. I’d better stay off of my feet.” Well, Wolff’s law would say otherwise! This law states that when bone supports a load it will remodel to adapt to the weight. This essential allows the bone to thicken which, as one could imagine, is exactly what an osteoarthritic knee needs. So, regular walking, swimming, biking, and low level resisted exercise can be a tremendous help to that knee you thought was done for. I urge you to think twice the next time you’ve decided that your diagnosis is your destiny. Talk to a professional and find out how you can take control of yourself and your life!
Greenlaw,Ellen. “FibromyalgiaExercise,OneStepataTime.”WebMD,WebMD,18Oct.2013,www. webmd.com/fibromyalgia/features/fibromyalgia-exercise-one-step-time#1.
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