Our knees are among the most important joints in our body. We often fail to appreciate it until we feel pain emanating from this area. This could be caused by a number of things including muscle imbalances, bone-on-bone friction, muscle tightness, meniscus tear, and so on. When these happen, it can become painful to run or even walk. Our mobility gets impaired to the point that crutches may be required.
Even those who can move around without special assistance may have to take precautions so as not to aggravate the situation. In the worst scenarios, knee replacement surgery Sydney specialists may have to be called in. As always, the best way to take care of the knees is to prevent injuries from happening in the first place. Here are a few tips on how to do this:
Perform Suitable Exercises
The movement of the knee is controlled by the various muscles around the joint. Make these muscles strong and everything will be more stable and less prone to injuries. Work on your quads, hamstrings, and calf muscles. Perform core, hip and glute exercises on a regular basis. You don’t have to do anything that hard or lift any kind of weight to achieve a good level of fitness. For instance, you could do a number of air squats to strengthen your lower body. Follow this up by a core routine in which you will hold the various poses from 30 seconds up to several minutes depending on your fitness.
Get Cushioned Footwear
Walk around a lot to get your knees used to the movement. It will gradually adapt such that it can go farther and longer without feeling pain the more you practice. Just be sure to put on cushioned footwear so that your feet won’t get too sore. The foam will also absorb much of the impact from the ground instead of the knee joint. This becomes more important when you are traveling across undulating terrain. The downhill parts are hard on the knees. Good strong muscles help absorb the impact. So will the shoe cushioning. Mountain ultra runners know this all too well.
Consult a Reputable Doctor
If you continue to feel pain, then you should consult a doctor or a physical therapist. They will trace the source of the problem and develop a plan of action to give you some relief. Each type of condition will require a different kind of solution. Some will need a lot of rest to let the body heal itself with some collagen pills taken regularly to help things along. Other cases call for strengthening exercises to correct imbalances. The most difficult situation to deal with are those in which surgery is necessary as recovery will take a long time.
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