Don’t Go Weak in the Knees

Treat your knee pains pronto or they may become worse as you grow older.

While you worry about headache and backache, the pain in the knees is generally ignored. It will pass, you say, crossing your legs. But don’t make such a knee-jerk reaction; those joints, after all, carry your weight. A good posture is essential to keep the knees healthy and something as small as keeping the legs crossed can hurt in the long run.

The knee has a lot of ligaments and a wrong posture can cause damage — even if it doesn’t hurt when you are young, it will catch up with you in your old age. Says Puneet Dilawari, orthopaedic surgeon, Fortis: “Keeping your legs crossed for a long period is harmful as the blood circulation is affected and the ligaments don’t get enough nutrition.”

Some sports put a lot of stress on knees. So before you prepare for your weekend soccer or even your daily exercise, make sure that you warm up so that the muscles are tuned. And avoid jogging on a hard surface. “It is advisable to run or jog on a muddy, soft surface. Before playing tennis, cricket or any other sport that put pressure on the knees, protective gears should be used,” says Dilawari.

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If you do not exercise regularly and do it only on weekends when you are free to do some stretches, you run the risk of hurting your joints or even a serious knee injury. “Such people are called weekend athletes. They are too busy to exercise during the week and they overwork themselves in the weekend. Most of them come to me complaining of pain in the knee. The only suggestion I can give is to exercise in moderation regularly and not to overdo it,” says Dilawari. Running can easily do damage to the kneecap. It is caused by the inflammation of the cartilage under the kneecap. Most cartilage injuries are caused by a forceful impact or twisting movements. These are mostly caused by a blow or a fall and can sometimes lock the knee.

If you do not deal with the pain in the knees in time, it can become worse as you grow old and you may eventually require a knee-replacement surgery.

A balanced diet also plays a crucial role in keeping the joints from creaking. A carbohydrate-rich diet is considered bad for the knees as it stops the fluid in the cartilage from regenerating. “A calcium-rich diet is very good. It stops the bones from getting weak and supplies fluid to the ligaments,” says Dilawari. However minuscule the pain, attend to it. “The best thing is to visit a doctor straightaway. Those who ignore the pain do a greater damage to their knees,” he adds. Take that trip to the hospital rather than end up knee-deep in trouble.