Four Everyday Habits That Lead To Knee Pain

As the knee is one of the most important joints in the body, it makes sense to protect it fully. However, you can only protect your knees if you know the dangers they face every day. This means you should know how the following four habits can damage your knees:

Bad Posture

Bad posture is bad for all your joints, including your knees. For example, sitting with your ankles bent inwards or outwards can cause back and knee pain. This posture mostly occurs to those who are pregnant, overweight or use the wrong footwear. If you have to sit like that, make sure it doesn't go on for prolonged periods. You can do this, for example, by changing your sitting position, standing occasionally or taking short walks.

Stretching Before Warming Up

Regular exercise is one of the best ways of strengthening your body, including your knee joints. It's also advisable to stretch your muscles and joints before engaging in exercise, but not before warming them up.

Cold muscles, tendons or ligaments are tight, and stretching them is a sure way of injuring yourself. Warming up before stretching increases blood flow to these areas, which makes the collagen fibers elastic. After that, you can stretch them with no risk of injury.

Overdoing Squats and Lunges

Another exercise mistake that may lead to knee pain is that of overdoing your squats and lunges. There are right and wrong techniques for these exercises. Some of the things to avoid include:

  • Bending your front knee too forward
  • Cranking your rear knee at an angle (it should be aimed directly at the floor)
  • Lifting your front heel off the floor

The risk is even greater if you have a history of knee problems such as sprains and strains. If you are just starting to exercise, get a professional fitness instructor to guide you until you master the techniques.

Bouncing Up and Down Stairs

Whereas taking stairs is healthy because you get to exercise your body, you should do it with caution. The main concern is how you do it; bounding up or down the stairs puts too much strain on your knees. Just climb or descend the stairs at a normal pace. In fact, if you already have some knee problems, you should use the handrails for support.

Apart from pain, other symptoms of knee injury include swelling, lock up and insatiability of the joint.  These are the signs that mean you should consult an orthopedist as soon as possible.

For more information, contact Northern Care Inc Prosthetics & Orthotics or a similar organization.


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