Few things will throw off your plans and ruin your day the way pain will, and knee pain is some of the worst possible. When every step hurts, and simply standing or bending can be painful, you have one thing on your mind- relief. This is why knee pain treatment options are so important and why so many people talk to their doctors or health care providers about how they can deal with their knee pain and related symptoms.
Pain in the knee can take on many forms and ranges. You may have back of knee cap pain, bad knee pain when bending, pain when putting pressure on the knee, or constant radiating pain. Finding the best knee relief and treatments largely depends on who you are working with. A general practitioner can only do so much with joint pain and symptoms. Getting true relief will depend on getting personalized treatment from a pain and joint professional.
Talk to your local health care expert to find the best medicine for knee inflammation and see how you can find relief and get the help you want and need.
Do you suffer from chronic knee pain? This kind of pain could be caused by diabetes, being overweight, having suffered a sports injury or many other reasons. Chronic knee pain is different than just hurting your knees. It is described as a long term pain. Swelling and sensitivity may accompany the pain but every person has a different experience.
Temporary knee pain is not the same as chronic knee pain. A lot of people may have temporary knee pain if they have had an accident or something, but that kind of a pain usually goes away on its own. In order to make chronic knee pain go away, you have to have treatment. There are numerous diseases or conditions that can cause this type of knee pain from osteoarthritis, tendinitis, bursitis, gout, meniscus tear, bone tumors, rheumatoid arthritis and more. If you suffer from any of this, you’ll only make the pain worse by not warming up or cooling down properly before and after exercising, overusing your knee or having bad form when exercising. You’ll also probably experience increased knee pain when walking.
Chronic Knee Pain Treatments
Depending on the cause of the knee pain, there will be a specific type of treatment that you can go through but here are some tips that should help to provide temporary relief until you can get surgery, medication, see a chiropractor or get physical therapy.
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- Put ice on your knee for 15 minutes at a time, every hour for three or four hours. Of course, you don’t want to put the ice directly on to your knee, not only will the ice melt and become useless, it’ll be very painful. Put the ice in a zip lock type bag and then place it on top of a towel that is covering your knee.
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- wearing heel will only exacerbate your problem. You should be wearing flat, comfortable shoes that have good support for your knees and back. Even after your knee is treated, you’ll still want to avoid wearing shoes that do not support you enough.
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- Try to sleep on your back or stomach. Sleeping on your side causes too much pressure on your knees. If you put pillows on either side of your body, that may help you to avoid rolling over in your sleep. If you absolutely have to sleep on your side, then put a pillow between your knees for added support.
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- If you are overweight or obese, losing weight will help ease the pain in your knees considerably. In fact, before you are cleared for any kind of knee surgery, your doctor may suggest life style changes to help you lose weight first.
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- Staying seated will help to give a little relief in your knees. When standing, try to avoid particularly hard surfaces that offer no give or support to your knees. Make sure you are distributing your weight evenly to both legs instead of leaning to one side.
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- Make sure that you are warming up for at least five or ten minutes before you exercise. After you are done, ensure that you have an extensive cool down period. Stretching your quads and hamstrings is particularly important.
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- Low impact exercises will be a little better for you. Running will put unnecessary force on to your knees so try replacing your jog with swimming or another low impact exercise.
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- If you are insistent on running then you will need to get shoe inserts that help your knees. When running hills, do not try to run down them, run up and then walk down. This will help to give your knees a break during the exercise as well as avoid excessive force.
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- Paved surfaces are your friend when you are walking or running outside. Rocky paths, rough roads and pocked walkways could cause you a lot of problems with your knee. If you are sticking to smooth, paved areas that are made for walking or running, that will help you a lot.
- Make sure that your running shoes are being replaced often in order to keep up on the proper support and cushioning that you need.
Knee pain can be a real problem but it doesn’t have to stop you from living life the way you want to.
