7 Easy Knee Pain Tips and Tricks
Knee Pain Tips:
Embarking on a journey to alleviate knee pain involves more than just managing discomfort; it’s about adopting holistic practices that foster joint health and well-being. In this insightful guide, we uncover seven practical tips aimed at easing knee pain and enhancing your overall quality of life.
Tip #1: Avoid Sitting With Your Knee Bent Or Cross-Legged
Our bodies were not built to sit for long periods of time, especially with your legs crossed. Sitting with your knees crossed or bent under you over-stretches the ligaments and muscles surrounding your knee. This can also increase the pressure on your knee joints, which can cause pain and swelling.
To give your knees relief, limit the amount of time you spend with your knees bent or crossed. Try to have them straight whenever possible. If you have to sit with your knees crossed or bent, limit it to 20 minutes at a time before getting up and moving around.
Tip #2: Exercise On Level Surfaces
Many people don’t realize that walking on uneven or hard surfaces can make knee pain worse. By changing where you exercise, you can ease knee pain.
Walking on hard, uneven surfaces will make knee pain worse. Walking on softer surfaces, such as grass, will be easier on ALL your joints.
To supplement this tip, we’ve prepared a helpful video featuring three at-home exercises designed specifically for relieving knee discomfort. These exercises can be performed on level surfaces, ensuring a gentle yet effective workout:
Tip #3: Switch Your Shoes
Sandals, flip-flops, and hard-bottom shoes are all proven to add forces and stress on your knees. You can decrease the pressure on your knees by up to 20-25% by wearing comfortable, cushioned shoes without a heel.
Remember that poor footwear choices have a cumulative effect. Pressure builds up over years eventually causing weak and stiff knees around age 40.
Tip #4: Check Your Sleep Habits
Sleeping on your side without knee support causes twisting and rotation at your knees, similar to sitting cross-legged. You want to avoid this position for prolonged periods of time for the same reasons you avoid bent knees and sitting cross-legged (stretching muscles and joints, increased stress on your knees).
Think of how much time you spend sleeping… you could decrease the stress on your knees by 6-8 HOURS a day with just this simple change. If you sleep on your side, place a pillow between your legs to keep your knee joint aligned. Avoid sleeping on your stomach as this puts pressure and self-inflicted damage on the front of your knees (just like being in a kneeling position).
Tip #5: Stay Hydrated
One of the biggest mistakes that could be contributing to your pain and zapping your energy is being dehydrated. Dehydration can cause muscle aches, pains, fatigue, and dizziness.
Try to drink water throughout the day. Avoid excess caffeine, including coffee, tea, alcohol, and energy drinks, as these will dehydrate your body even more.
Tip #6: Use Ice And Heat
This may be the question we get the most. Do I use ice or heat? Heat is best used for loosening up stiff muscles and joints. A lot of people find it useful in the morning when they’re stiff and having trouble moving.
Ice is good after activity or in the evening when your knees are aching or painful. Without knowing your personal situation, the best advice we can give you is to try both ice and heat and keep using the one that makes you feel better!
Tip #7: Consult A Knee Pain Expert
The fastest way to take care of your knee pain is by going to see a physical therapist. A physical therapist can listen to your story and take a look at your knees and find out why you are having pain and stiffness. Then, a physical therapist can come up with a plan to relax your aching muscles, loosen your stiff joints, and strengthen your body so you can get back to the activities you love.
If you combine all these tips from this special guide with a visit to a hands-on physical therapist, then you will see a dramatic drop in your knee pain and stiffness.
If you found this guide useful, be sure to check out our 10 tips to relieve back pain.
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