Do your knees constantly ache? Listen to these 5 recommendations if you want to keep your joints healthy.
Your knee joints will definitely thank you for this.
Our knees are subjected to a lot of stress every day: when walking, climbing stairs, running. Although they are the strongest joints in our body, we still need to take good care of them. And it all starts with the following points:
1. Don’t Sit in One Position for Too Long
Leading a sedentary lifestyle is one of the worst things you can do for your knees. The fact is, they are made for movement, and sitting for long hours can lead to stiffness and constriction in the knee joint. Additionally, the bone structures in this position can become fatigued, making them more prone to injuries.
Surely many of you have had difficulty getting up from a chair after 8 hours of work – all your muscles have become stiff and accustomed to the sitting position. This is very harmful to joint health.
What should you do if your job requires sitting for at least 7 hours? Take breaks every half hour. This will be beneficial for your back, neck, and knees. During the break, walk to the farthest water cooler in the office, do a couple of squats, stretch your leg and back muscles, and then you can get back to work.
2. Avoid Heavy Weightlifting Exercises
Strength training exercises can indeed help build certain muscles, but doctors strongly recommend not squatting with heavy weights to avoid knee injuries – the load on the bone structures increases under the weight, which can lead to their deterioration. Other exercises, such as cycling, running, and swimming, which involve maximum knee involvement, will only benefit the joints.
3. Don’t Ignore Pain
Many of us are raised to believe that unless an organ or joint completely fails, we shouldn’t see a doctor. This is a very wrong approach: by doing so, you delay the moment when specialists can help you, and when you finally seek their help, it may be too late.
Don’t self-medicate and self-destruct, instead, determine what caused the pain in the knee joint and stop doing activities that provoke it. And then go to the doctors – they will prescribe the necessary ointment and check for any pathologies.
4. Don’t Wear High-Heeled Shoes
Ladies who want to show off their long and beautiful legs should give up high heels, because if you wear them frequently, there will be nothing left to show.
High-heeled shoes put a lot of stress on the knees, especially on the patella, the front part of the foot, and the calf.
Heels are the main enemy of the feet. Not only do they harm the knees, but also the arches and toes. In a narrow toe box, the toes are constantly in an unnatural position, pressed against each other – this can cause the formation of calluses and toe deformities. And the most common consequence for the feet is flat feet.
5. Perform Different Exercises
Running, squatting, and jumping can be beneficial for the knees, but try adding exercises like side lunges, speed skating, and backward cycling. This will strengthen the knee joints from all sides!