3 Lifestyle Changes to Make With Chronic Knee Pain

Your chronic knee pain has sent you to your doctor, and you may receive a referral to physical therapy. Perhaps your doctor administered a cortisone shot to calm the inflammation in your knee. You may wonder what adaptations you can make to keep your knee pain under control.

Dr. Mohamed Hablas at Outreach Manual Physical Therapy uses passive and active modalities to increase the range of motion in your knee joint and bring back function as close to normal as possible. Dr. Hablas and your physician discuss the types of physical activity you can engage in without further damage to your knee joints. 

The following three lifestyle changes can help relieve chronic knee pain and protect your knee joints in the future. 

Choose low-impact physical activities and perform specific exercises to strengthen muscles  

Have you been a runner, tennis, soccer, or basketball player for years? All of that turning, twisting, and pounding has likely worn down the cartilage that cushions your knee joints. 

Your knee pain has likely sidelined you from high-impact physical activities, but you know exercising is critical to maintaining your health, especially as you grow older. Once your inflammation subsides with physical therapy, it’s vital to continue an exercise routine, but one that’s modified to protect your knees against further damage. Choose low-impact sports and activities such as walking, cycling, swimming, biking, or gentle yoga.  

Make ergonomic accommodations to relieve knee stress. If you’re a gardener, try raised planters. Wall ovens save you from bending and twisting your knees.  

To maintain overall health, in addition to low-impact exercise, add exercises to your daily routine that you learn in physical therapy. These physical therapy exercises help keep the muscles around your knees strong. They help support your knees and ease pressure on the joints. Stretches that you learn from Dr. Hablas also improve your flexibility. 

1. Lose excess weight 

Being overweight or obese can result in chronic low-grade inflammation. Your knees feel it. Obese individuals have four to five times the risk of developing knee arthritis compared to those who aren’t. Your knees have to bear the excess weight of your upper body, which they’re not supposed to do. 

If you lose only 10 pounds, you remove 40 pounds of pressure on your knees. Multiply that if you’re significantly overweight, and you can understand how much stress you’re placing on your knees. 

2. Make careful food choices that help reduce inflammation

The foods you eat impact your joints. Your knee pain signals inflammation. You may not realize that foods are making your knee pain worse. 

Avoid these foods that promote inflammation

Do you love the taste of processed meats like bacon and salami? These processed foods promote inflammation. 

Likewise, does your pantry contain a lot of store-bought cakes, cookies, sweetened drinks, and other sugary sweets? The National Institutes of Health states that excess sugar promotes chronic inflammation and autoimmune disease. 

Do you frequently eat pizza, white bread, white rice, bagels, crackers, and chips? Refined carbs strip fiber, bran, and other nutrients. They move into your bloodstream rapidly and increase your blood sugar level, which produces inflammation. 

Foods that fight inflammation

Choose foods that reduce inflammation to ease your knee pain. Look for foods with Omega-3 fatty acids. Try incorporating wild salmon, tuna, or mackerel into your weekly meals. Fill half of your plate with fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables. They’re full of nutrients that counteract cell damage. Add beans, seeds, and nuts to your diet. 

For expert physical therapy that helps heal musculoskeletal injuries and ease pain from conditions like arthritis, call Outreach Manual Physical Therapy or book an appointment online.