Decrease Your Chances of Getting Knee Arthritis

A woman asked me 

“what can I do to reduce the chances of knee arthritis?”

 So here’s my answer…

So there’s no real chance of preventing knee, osteoarthritis, because osteoarthritis in general is a where in tear of the cartilage. This is something that naturally happens over time. We get wrinkles in our skin as we get older and other people say that we get wrinkles on the inside as well in the form of osteoarthritis, so the wrinkles on the skin on the outside are some signs of aging and osteoarthritis on the inside is signs of aging as well. You can, however, make it so that the osteoarthritis is not painful. 

See it’s the inflammation that makes osteoarthritis painful. And osteoarthritis and inflammation are not the same. You can have them separate. Which means you can have osteoarthritis and NOT have inflammation. Which means you can have osteoarthritis without pain. 

So let’s get into it you’ll see here the ways to decrease your osteoarthritis risk and decrease inflammation so even if on X-ray you do have osteoarthritis you can have it without the pain. 

Keys to decreasing the knee wear and tear (knee osteoarthritis)

1. Strengthen

2. Train (exercise) appropriately

3. Recover

4. Equipment that is appropriate

5. Stretch

6. Diet

It’s all about how S.T.R.E.S.’D your knees (and your body) are. 

Strengthen

Strengthen to decrease chances of knee arthritis. Strengthen your muscles to support your knees. Your knees and all your joints need strong muscles to support them and love them the way they are meant to move. Supported knees mean less pressure on the cartilage and less pressure can mean less wear and tear. 

Train (exercise) appropriately

Train right to decrease your chances of knee arthritis. Your knees want to move which means they also want to exercise. But when you exercise and train you need to train at the pace to not ramp it up too fast. So this means when you’re running to follow the 10% rule for distance or time. So you don’t go too far too fast. (I use running as an example but the 10% rule goes for any kind of cardio). Following the appropriate progression to ramp up means less stress and pounding on your knees and less stress can mean less wear and tear. 

Recover

Recovery for decreased chances of knee arthritis. Your knees need some TLC. Let your knees take the rest they need and nurture them in recovery mode. This means getting enough sleep and using ice, heat, massage, foam rollers, hot epsom salt baths, creams, compression socks, etc to help recover after any kind of workout so they can heal. The right recovery and healing procedures means that any wear and tear that can be repaired will have the time to repair. 

Equipment that is appropriate

The right equipment to decrease knee arthritis. Using the correct equipment for you makes a big difference in how your knees do. Are you using the right shoes for your running stride, for your foot shape, are your shoes the right size? This also means using the right kind of equipment for recovery like the quality of the creams you use, the quality of the foam roller or massager tool you use. The right shoes means that your body is supported and that means less pressure and stress on your knees which can mean less wear and tear. And the right quality of the other equipment means they work the way they are supposed to to help heal your knees. 

Stretch

Stretch for knee arthritis. Stretching helps loosen up tight muscles and decrease soreness so you can optimize your running performance. When you’re tight or sore you’re more likely to change the way you move so you aren’t in optimal posture and can get hurt. When you move in optimal posture it means less pressure and stress on your knees which can mean less wear and tear. 

Diet

Food to eat for knee arthritis. Eating and drinking foods and beverages that support your body will improve your performance and recovery. Keeping up with your water intake keeps your muscles, cartilage and joints hydrated. Eating protein gives your muscles the nutrients they need to build up the muscle after it’s been broken down from the workout. Eating good fats gives your body energy so you don’t hit that 2pm slump and can’t get your after work workout in. Eating carbs helps give your body the quick energy it needs to fuel those runs. The right food and drink going into your body means that your knees get the nutrients they need to repair any wear and tear that can be repaired. 

So that’s all well and good right? But what if you’re going to have osteoarthritis anyway or you already have knee osteoarthritis what do you do to make it not so painful?

Check out the blog post Decrease Knee Arthritis Pain & Inflammation

Have more questions about this?

Send me an email blog@dralipt.com with the subject “Blog Post Question” and let me know your question, and I’ll respond!