Getting Your Knees Back Into Shape
Ever bend down to pick up something off of the floor and had your knees pop and crack? Do they feel stiff in the morning? Do they seem to have lost some of their strength and flexibility?
Yeah. Me too. As we get older, our joints, especially our knees, tend to become stiff. We begin to lose range of motion.
Most of us react by learning to live with the restricted range of motion. In other words, if it hurts to move the joint too far, we don’t move it that far. The only problem with this is that our range of motion continuously degenerates, becoming less and less over time.
None of us wants to lose our ability to get around. So what can you do to prevent this from happening?
First, Check with Your Doctor.
First of all, make sure that you don’t have some sort of degenerative bone disease that may require medical attention.
Second, Lose Some Weight.
Well, I’ve found that best thing you can do is to lose some weight. If you’re carrying some extra pounds, and who among us isn’t, it tends to throw your knees out of alignment. This makes them work harder in addition to increasing the amount of wear and tear on them.
Don’t believe me? Try getting on an exercise bike and pedaling for a minute or two. Notice how the extra weight around your abdomen and thighs forces you to spread your legs out to the side. As a result, when you begin to pedal, your knees are pushing down on the pedal at an angle instead of pushing straight down like they should.
To get your knees back into shape, you HAVE to get rid of some of the weight. Find a diet you can live with and get some of the extra pounds off. Do this BEFORE you begin any kind of exercise routine that places a lot of strain on the legs or knees. You don’t want to risk any further damage to your knees.
Third, Build Leg Strength.
Notice I said leg strength, not knee strength. The reason is that the knee is made up of muscles that wrap around the joint and help keep it aligned. The stronger these muscles are, the better aligned your knee stays.
Spend some time doing front and back leg lifts with weights and your knees will automatically be strengthened in the process.
Fourth, Increase Knee Flexibility.
Once you built some strength in your legs, you can begin to increasing your range of motion with some shallow knee bends or other exercises that work the knee directly. I’ve found that some of the Yoga poses are also great for this. Once again, it’s critical that you first lose some weight and build some leg strength so that your knees stay aligned properly.
Fifth, Feed Your Knees.
Some people have gotten good results by taking dietary supplements containing glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate. The jury is still out on this with some medical studies showing no benefit and others showing just the opposite. My opinion is that it depends on the individual and their unique physical condition.
So give it a try – but don’t expect miracles.
The End Result.
Follow these suggestions and you’ll find that you can bend and move your knees without as much pain or effort. You’ll also begin to regain your full range of motion. The end result is that you keep your ability to move around and enjoy life — and isn’t that the whole point?
Hiram
The Balanced Health Guy
Technorati Tags: knee, knee health, flexibility, exercise, balance, supplements, glucosamine
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I’ve found that the older I get, the worse my knees get. It’s easy to say “lose some weight” but getting older is a downward spiral…
Fred (the old guy)