How To Have Healthy Kness

Did you know that 19 million Americans saw a doctor for knee pain last year? Also 20 percent of Americans over 60 have significant knee pain. Our paper ran a great article on some simple things you can do to prevent knee pain. Here they are:

Keep your weight down - Research indicates that for every pound your carry puts an average of five pounds of added stress on your knees. Research also tells us that for a woman of average height, losing as little as 11 pounds, may cut of risk of osteoarthritis of the knee by up to 50 percent.

Exercise - Motion lubricates the knee joint. Strengthening the front and back muscles of the thighs can help prevent knee trouble. One way to reduce your risk of tearing you anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), a common problem for women, is to practice jumping and landing on a slightly bent knee. To build your leg muscles you must strength train your legs two to three times a week.

An easy exercise to do is the wall-sit. You put your back against the wall and slide down until your thighs are parallel with floor (perpendicular to your calves) and hold the position. You want to try to hold it for 30 seconds to start and build up to a minute or so. If you can just do 10 seconds, start with that and work up to a longer time.

Go slow - Always warm-up before exercising and be smart about your workout. Get a good beginning routine if you are just starting to get in shape. These can be found in books or you can higher a personal trainer for a few sessions to show you what to do or get a beginning exercise DVD. You can find reviews of beginning exercise DVD's online to find one that is right for you.

Train for a least two months before beginning stressful activities such as skiing or running in a race. Strength, flexibility (stretching/yoga), aerobic, and core (try Pilates) exercises will help prevent knee and other injuries.

Don't wait too long to see the doctor - Diagnosis and treatment of knee injuries has improved in the past ten years. Doctors say often patients just need physical therapy and home exercise to treat conditions.

Take Vitamin C - Dr. Oz says foods high in Vitamin C have all been associated with lower risk for knee pain and joint damage. I consume lots of Vitamin C and have never had problems with my knees.

Get Sun (Vitamin D) - Studies involving older people whose knees showed signs of osteoarthritis who took vitamin D supplements and consumed vitamin D rich foods and dairy products were able to keep the arithritis from getting worse.

Here are some of the latest techniques being used in knee treatment:

Low-level laste therapy - This therapy uses certain wavelengths of light at prescribed frequencies and intensities to help relieve pain and inflammation.

InterX - This is a hand held device which electrically stimulates the affected area, encouraging faster healing.

Pool therapy - Water's buoyancy reduces the load of your body weight on your knees. Water exercise may be a good choice if your are concerned about stress on your knees. Warm therapy pools improve circulation and help loosen up injured areas. Using a flotation aid, you can run in place in the deep end of a pool to maintain cardio fitness while recovering from a knee injury.