Tag: exercise and knee health

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Knee Osteoarthritis

Natural Pain Relief Through Exercise

Studies have found that exercise can be as beneficial to reducing knee pain as over-the-counter pain relievers. However, the idea of starting an exercise routine may sound daunting, or even crazy. 

Exercise can be as beneficial to reducing knee pain as over-the-counter pain relievers.

Yet the idea of exercising to reduce knee pain for those of us with osteoarthritis might sound a little crazy.

However, it’s not. And studies such as this one, prove it.

Land-based exercises such as walking, moderate cycling, and strength training can reduce knee pain by 10 to 15%, if not more.

Even better, people who exercise need less pain medication than those that do not exercise. And, in some cases, people who exercised regularly, didn’t need to take any pain medication at all.

Exercise can reduce knee pain by strengthening the muscles that surround the knee, thus making it more stable. Exercise that strengthens the quads and hamstrings, can not only result in reduced joint pain but can help keep the knee more stable.

This stability and increase in muscle can also decrease the impact on the knees, which as a result, reduced knee pain as well.  and help the knee to become more stable. It will also experience less impact, which as a result, reduces pain.

Another highly recommended, and research-backed exercise for those of us with knee osteoarthritis, is swimming.

Swimming is a wonderful low-impact exercise. And, just like land-based exercises, swimming can also lead to the release of a little something called endorphins.

Endorphins are natural feel-good painkillers that are released during exercise.

These neurotransmitters, which are also sometimes referred to as hormones, can not only decrease pain but can increase feelings of happiness and well-being.

So exercise can reduce knee pain, increase knee mobility, and triggers the release of chemicals that reduce pain and make us feel happier all around?

Yes.

However, when it comes to exercising with knee osteoarthritis, not all exercises are created equal. Therefore, it’s important to check with your doctor before starting any exercise plan.

Chances are, they will recommend that you practice low-impact exercises, such as stretching, walking on the treadmill, swimming, or yoga, to name a few.

Once you get the green light to start exercising, the next step is to…start.

However, you might be thinking “Easier said than done”.

Maybe, but trust us, it can be done.

In our next article, we will take a look at a few tips on how to get started and make exercise a part of your daily life.

 

Categories
Knee Osteoarthritis

Exercise and Maintaining a Healthy Weight

One of the most common goals of the new year is to exercise more and lose weight. This is a great goal, especially when it comes to dealing with the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis, as exercise and maintaining a healthy weight, can both decrease knee pain and increase knee mobility.

Those of us that already go to a gym, might notice an influx of people working out in January, as new years resolution-based memberships skyrocket.

We also might notice that this increase in people tapers off considerably as the weeks go by.

Why is this?

We know that by exercising and maintaining a healthy weight, we can experience significant health benefits such as improved circulation, increased feelings of wellness and well-being, and reduced knee and joint pain. Regular exercise can also dramatically reduce our risk for all sorts of other health problems.

So knowing all of this, why is it that so many well-intentioned people fail to achieve their exercise and weight loss goals?

According to James Clear, the author of the New York Times bestselling book Atomic Habits, one reason for this could be that they set unrealistic standards for themselves.

Clears writes that many well-intentioned workout regimens are just too hard to maintain day to day and week to week. Therefore, he writes that the better choice is to set small goals to make little changes that build over time.

And how does one make these little changes?

By building new habits.

So what is a habit?

According to James Clear, “Habits are the small decisions you make and the actions you perform every day.”

He goes on to say that “Your life today is essentially the sum of your habits. How in shape or out of shape you are? A result of your habits. How happy or unhappy you are? A result of your habits. How successful or unsuccessful you are? A result of your habits.”

So the key to changing these habits is by introducing some new ones.

In order to build a new habit, such as regular exercise, Clear’s recommendations are:

Start with an incredibly small habit.

The author states that one of the best ways to start building a new habit is to choose something that doesn’t take a lot of motivation to do.

For example, instead of saying “I’m going to do 50 sit-ups every day.” Try starting with five.

Increase your habit in very small ways.

In Atomic Habits, Clear writes that it’s important to start small at a new task or activity, and then gradually improve.

He recommends that we aim to increase a new habit by merely one percent every day.

As a result of doing this, Clear has found that motivation and willpower are given time to grow, therefore making it easier to practice the new habit.

In our next article, we will continue looking at research-based recommendations for building an exercise habit in order to decrease knee pain, and increase function.