As the saying goes, the knee joint is one of the most important weight-bearing joints in the human body, with a complex and flexible structure, so it is also the most "sick" joint in the body.
According to statistics, 60%~70% of men over the age of 60 suffer from osteoarthritis, and the proportion of women is even higher. Knee osteoarthritis can lead to joint pain, especially during activities, and in severe cases, joint dysfunction and even disability can occur, bringing inconvenience to daily life and seriously reducing the quality of life.
However, there are still many people who do not have enough understanding of knee-related diseases, and there are many cases of excessive wear and tear of the knee joint, aggravation of injuries, and even delay in treatment. When the knee starts to show symptoms such as friction, coldness, tightness, pain, etc., it is a reminder that you need to pay attention.
The stock copyright picture, reprinting and using may cause copyright disputes
A small movement can tell if there is a problem with your knee
If you don't know what's going on with your knee, follow the steps below to take two steps.
"Duck step" tests knee status Image credit: Men's Health
You need to slowly squat to the deepest and then walk forward in alternating squatting on your left and right legs like a duckling.
- If you feel pinprick pain in front of your knee during squatting, or if you feel soreness in your knee, the patellar cartilage in your knee may be damaged.
- If your knee gets stuck while walking, or if you feel significant pain on the inside or outside of your knee, you may have an injury to your meniscus.
If you don't feel any discomfort after the test, you still have a pair of healthy knee joints, so pay attention to protect them! If you feel that there is a problem, it is recommended to see an orthopaedic joint specialist as soon as possible, and if necessary, complete knee X-ray, MRI, ultrasound, CT and other examinations to avoid delaying the condition.
Note: This method requires muscle strength and body coordination in the thighs and is not recommended for people over 50 years of age. If the joint already has severe pain, swelling and other symptoms, it is not recommended to do this test again, so as not to aggravate the lesion of the knee joint.
If the duck step doesn't satisfy your desire for self-testing, you can also try the following test with high accuracy: the Thessaly test.
Start by standing on a flat ground, bend the test knee to 20 degrees, gently lift the other foot up, or step on one foot on the other to maintain balance.
Photo credit: Samarpan Physiotherapy Clinic
Ask family members to hold the person's hands to help them maintain their balance and have the person rotate their knees in this position with one knee inward and one knee outward. The test subject needs to feel any pain or discomfort while spinning, and at the same time need to pay attention to whether they feel a feeling of jamming or instability in the knee.
The medial and lateral meniscus were tested separately, with each rotation performed 3 times, each lasting about 5 seconds.
The test is considered positive if it causes pain or stuttering. Pain due to internal rotation: indicates the presence of lateral meniscal injury, and pain due to external rotation: indicates the presence of medial meniscal injury.
Pay attention to the following 2 questions when testing:
Rotation can be performed in the normal position of the knee joint to train the test subject.
The knee bend angle needs to be constant at all times during the test.
Finally, once again, we would like to remind everyone that the self-test method is not a complete substitute for the diagnosis of a medical professional, therefore, it is recommended to consult a professional doctor as soon as possible when the knee joint is symptomatic, and to have a comprehensive examination and diagnosis.
These habits that hurt the knee should be avoided
So, what can we do to protect our knee joints?
1. Sedentary and long-standing
Sitting and standing for a long time can be said to be the sworn enemy of orthopedics, and this habit will cause chronic strain on the lumbar spine, hip joint, and knee joint. Why?
Because the knee joint sends the nutrients in the synovial fluid into the chondrocytes through squeezing, and sits still all the time, although the joint is not weight-bearing, the articular cartilage does not have a squeezing-relaxation process like a sponge absorbing water, and naturally cannot absorb nutrients. In the same way, no matter what posture you hold, maintaining it for too long will have the same effect on the knee joint.
Over time, malnutrition continues, and the articular cartilage becomes loose and fragile. Nowadays, many young people don't usually do anything, but their knees are inexplicably sore and often cold, and the reason is mostly the sedentary pot in the office.
The stock copyright picture, reprinting and using may cause copyright disputes
In addition, sitting for a long time will also make the leg muscles atrophy, because the muscles are the main organs to maintain the stability of the knee joint, the muscles become weaker, a little more walking and running, the stability of the knee joint will be more likely to wear out, and the knee will hurt to show you.
2. Squatting and kneeling
When a person is doing kneeling exercises, flexion and semi-squats (such as tai chi) or climbing stairs, the patella will be subjected to very large tension and pressure, and this force can usually reach 4~5 times the body weight, and up to 8 times when kneeling!
Repeated and changing stresses act on the knee joint, and the bones, cartilage, and ligaments of the knee joint are often overloaded, resulting in discomfort or pain in the knee joint.
If the knee joint is in this high-pressure state for a long time, it will increase the wear and tear of the cartilage, once the cartilage is damaged, the knee joint loses the protection of the cushion, and the bone begins to grind the bone, and pain will appear until arthritis develops. Therefore, whether you are working or resting, you should try to avoid squatting and kneeling posture.
3. Cross-legged
Those who like to sit cross-legged should beware! The collateral ligaments of the knee are elastic like rubber bands. When sitting cross-legged, the lateral collateral ligaments of the knee continue to be stretched, and over time, the ligaments will gradually loosen, reducing the stability of the knee joint and increasing the risk of knee wear and tear.
In addition, cross-legged can also increase the pressure in the medial compartment of the knee, and long-term high pressure of the cartilage in the medial compartment can also lead to cartilage damage.
4. Practice skipping rope on hard ground
When jumping rope on hard ground, there is no force cushion on the cement floor, and the impact force generated by landing is directly reflected to the knee joint, and the faster the speed and the greater the weight, the greater the recoil force.
In the same way, dancing barefoot at home, wearing ordinary board shoes, cloth shoes and playing basketball will also bring a great impact to the knee joint, and if it lasts for a long time or performs similar actions frequently, it will also accelerate the knee injury.
5. Knees are not kept warm in winter
Because low temperature will affect the blood flow rate, if the blood flow speed is too slow, the inflammatory substances produced by joint wear and tear cannot be taken away in time, which will further stimulate the knee joint and aggravate the discomfort of coldness, swelling, and pain in osteoarthritis.
Therefore, in the cold winter, not only the body should be warmed, but also the knees should be warmed, and a blanket should be added to the knees when sitting still, and the elderly can also wear a knee pad on the knees. It should be noted that the knee brace should be tightened appropriately, if it is too tight, it will hinder local blood circulation and aggravate the condition.
6. Climb slopes and stairs
Climbing stairs or stairs is not a problem for healthy young people, but knee injuries, overweight or older people are not recommended as an exercise method.
Because when going up and down the mountain, the weight of the knee joint is 3~4 times of its own body weight, especially when going down the mountain, the lack of gravity cushioning, the instantaneous gravity of the body will be concentrated on one side of the joint, and the damage to the knee joint is more serious. People with knee problems should be able to feel that when climbing a mountain, it is usually more difficult to descend a mountain than to go up, and it is more uncomfortable to go down stairs than to go up stairs.
The stock copyright picture, reprinting and using may cause copyright disputes
7. Obesity
Obesity is one of the important risk factors for osteoarthritis. Most of the obese people weigh more than the normal weight that the knee joint can bear, resulting in uneven force on the knee joint, increased joint load, increased friction on the cartilage edge, accelerated cartilage loss, osteophyte formation, obesity will also lead to changes in posture, gait and exercise habits.
In fact, in the past, people who did manual labor for a long time, such as carrying heavy loads or carrying burdens, were also the most popular group of people with arthritis, although they were lean.
In addition, obesity can also indirectly affect joints through other metabolic complications, such as impaired glucose tolerance, dyslipidemia, etc., which can make the internal environment of human joints disordered and indirectly promote the production and development of osteoarthritis.
These few actions are recommended that you do more
1. Supine straight leg raise
If your knees aren't in optimal shape, start with simple strengthening exercises for your quadriceps (the muscles in the front of your thighs). This movement puts little to no pressure on the knees.
Lie on your back on the floor or other flat surface. Bend one knee and place your foot flat on the floor. Keeping the other leg straight, raise it to the height of the opposite knee.
Three sets of repetitions are performed 10~15 times.
Photo credit: Samarpan Physiotherapy Clinic
2. Prone straight leg raise
Lie flat with your legs straight. Tighten the muscles of the hips and the hamstrings of one leg, then lift towards the ceiling, hold for 3~5 seconds, lower.
Repeat 10~15 times.
The stock copyright picture, reprinting and using may cause copyright disputes
3. Lying on your side with straight leg raises
Lie on your side with your legs stacked on top of each other, bend your leg close to the bed to increase support, straighten the upper leg and raise it to 45 degrees. Hold for 5~10 seconds, let go and relax briefly.
Repeat 10~15 times.
The stock copyright picture, reprinting and using may cause copyright disputes
4. Squat against the wall
Stand with your back to the wall about 50cm, feet shoulder-width apart, slowly bend your knees and put your back and hips against the wall in a semi-squatting position, and your knees are in the same direction as your toes and facing straight ahead; The knee joint should not be more advanced than the toes, and the knees should not be buckled inward.
30~60 seconds/set, 1 minute rest between sets, a total of 3 sets; Choose to increase the degree of squat according to your own ability, but not more than 90°; Depending on the individual's athletic ability and training situation, the toes of both feet can also be lifted to the ground with only the heel to increase the training intensity; It is not recommended if there is swelling or pain in the knee joint.
The stock copyright picture, reprinting and using may cause copyright disputes
5. Hold the ball between your knees and raise your legs
Sit in a chair with your back upright, place the ball or water bottle between the knees of your legs, clamp your legs together, and gently stand on your heels, feeling the strength of your leg muscles. Hold for 40 seconds (the picture is just a demonstration action, stay for a short time), slowly lower and rest, and then continue, 10 times in a row, in the morning and once in the evening.
Image source: wikiHow
Notes:
1. Remember to do what you can and take it step by step. If the pain gets worse during the exercise, stop the exercise or reduce the amount of exercise, and don't stick to it.
2. If your knee joint is in acute pain, it is recommended to seek medical advice for symptomatic anti-inflammatory pain relief first, and do not do any exercise.
Planning and production
Author丨Deng Ting, Attending Physician of the Department of Orthopedics, Changsha Third Hospital
Review丨Ji Gang, Deputy Chief Physician of the Department of Orthopedics, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University
Planning丨Lin Lin
Editor-in-charge丨Wang Mengru
Reviewer丨Xu Lai Linlin