9 Best Solutions for Knee Pain

Knee pain is very discomforting and problematic yet, very common in adults. The reason is that carrying a lot of weights on them, knee joints have to work a lot. Walking, running, kneeling and stair schlepping are the activities that we perform several times a day that can be problematic if your knee joints are not strong enough to bear the weight

20% of us have experienced knee pain in the past three months. The most common reasons can be injuries or osteoarthritis that gets more common as you age.

Knee pain is very discomforting and problematic yet, very common in adults. The reason is that carrying a lot of weights on them, knee joints have to work a lot. Walking, running, kneeling and stair schlepping are the activities that we perform several times a day that can be problematic if your knee joints are not strong enough to bear the weight.

20% of us have experienced knee pain in the past three months. The most common reasons can be injuries or osteoarthritis that gets more common as you age.

Severe Knee Pain without Injury

Here are 9 simple methods that can help you ease your knee pain:

1. Ice

Frozen peas are a great solution to knee swelling or knee pain. Whether the pain that you are experiencing is due to a knee injury or arthritis; you can ease it by molding ice around your joints for 20 minutes. This helps bring down the inflammation; the main reason behind pain and swelling.

2. NSAIDS

Using NSAIDS is much better than using acetaminophen. If your stomach allows you to do so, take such drugs (like ibuprofen) for 10-14 days to ease the pain. Elizabeth Matzin, surgical director of women’s musculoskeletal health at Harvard Medical School says that taking these drugs this way is much better than starting and stopping.

3. Smart Exercise

Too much weight and exercise can be harmful if your knees are not in a good condition; however, some light exercises are necessary even if you are having pain in your knees. These exercises help build up the muscles that support knee joints.

When it comes to exercise, you have to choose very smartly as some exercises can be helpful in this case while others can create even more problems. Walking, cycling and closed kinematic chain exercises (the exercises where the foot stays planted, for example on an elliptical trainer) are very beneficial and keep the knees working.

However, you should totally avoid running and doing full leg extension exercises with a resistance machine. These can make the condition even worse.

Back of Knee Pain when Bending

4. Healing Foods

There are a lot of foods that can help you with knee pain; they go straight to your knees and heal the pain. According to one study, drinking one percent of fat free milk helped women put brakes on knee osteoarthritis. Another study shows that people who eat food containing vitamin C are less likely to suffer with osteoarthritis as compared to those who do not.

Try drinking fat free milk and eating foods rich in vitamin C.

5. Weight Loss

Being overweight is also sometimes the reason behind knee pain. This is because knees have to carry a lot of weight on them that can cause wear and tear. Every pound that you lose feels like 5 lesser pounds on knee. Exercise and a healthy diet are the best way to lose weight.

According to one study, if you combine both to lose weight, not only you’ll achieve a fit body, but your knee pain will also be relieved and the function will be restored.

Back Pain due to Overweight

6. Glucosamine/Chondroitin

What you need to know is that some knees respond to glucosamine or chondroitin while some don’t. This is why, in studies, the benefit of these looks statistically nonexistent on average.

However, it is worth a try for around 2 to 3 months. If it works, it can help a lot.

7. Injections

You can get injections to relief knee pain too, as they target the right source of the pain. However, you should not take them too often. Corticosteroids can ease knee pain when they are injected directly into the joint, as they reduce inflammation. However, the effect will be temporary.

In fact, doctors usually limit the shots to 3 to 4 times a year as using injections repeatedly can deteriorate your cartilage and can result in other issues as well.

Hyaluronic Acid Injections for Osteoarthritis

8. Knee Replacement

In extreme conditions, when nothing else works, the patient is suggested to go for knee replacement. In this case, the surgeon resurfaces the ends of the upper and lower leg bones (called femur and tibia) where they meet in the joint. He also replaces the damaged cartilage with plastic and metal implants.

It obviously is a baby/bathwater option for you, but it sometimes becomes necessary as well

9. Platelet-Rich Plasma

Another option that you could probably go for is PRP. In this method, the blood gets removed and then treated before it is injected again into the joint with concentrated proteins called growth factors.

Athletes use platelet rich plasma for sprains and this is clear evidence that it can help you with your knee pain. If a few more studies also show the same, this might go mainstream in the coming years.

Knee pain is very common in old or weak people and you are likely to get affected in old age if you have not been taking proper care earlier. A good diet and proper exercises are necessary at any age as they can prevent you from any such conditions at later stages.

Also, you should get a proper advice regarding the exercises that are suitable for your age and physical condition, to make sure that you are not putting too much weight on your knees. Besides all this, if you experience knee pain, you should always consult your doctor to know that which method is the most suitable one for you.