Old age starts with the legs. Legs age first, and knees age first.
The knees are not the most commonly injured part of the body, but they are the weakest and most demanding joints because they often bear the entire weight of the person and because their structure makes them more vulnerable to impact than the hip and ankle joints due to their wide range of motion.
The knee joint connects the femur of the thigh to the tibia and fibula of the lower leg, with the kneecap (patella) on top. The lower front end of the femur has a groove for the patella, which allows the patella to move up and down very satisfactorily, and the cartilage on the surface of these joints absorbs shock and takes pressure until they fail.
Between the femur and tibia there are two large cartilage discs called the medial meniscus and the lateral meniscus. The cartilage, especially the meniscus, is the part of the body that is most susceptible to injury during exercise.
The bigger problem is that the patella itself has no blood or lymphatic fluid supply, so recovery from injury is slow. All knee injuries are due to injuries or damage to tissues like cartilage and meniscus that do not regenerate easily. These tissues are not like muscles that can grow back quickly, and to help them grow back, you have to take a lot of Glucosamine (amino grape salts like salt, not calcium) with limited and almost non-renewable effects. So we shouldn’t realize this at a moment when it’s already too late.
Since the posterior aspect of the patella is mostly a cartilaginous structure, it forms the patellofemoral joint with the femoral condyles and the intercondylar fossa. When the knee is straight and the quadriceps is relaxed, the lower part of the patella is in gentle contact with the intercondylar fossa of the femur; when the knee is flexed to 90°, the upper part of the patella is in contact with the intercondylar fossa; when the knee is fully flexed, the entire articular surface of the patella is in close contact with the intercondylar fossa. In long-term extension and flexion of the knee joint, the patella and femur rub against each other repeatedly, causing the cartilage surface to be worn down and resulting in patellofemoral strain. If you press the patella in front of the knee joint with your hand, there is often a special dull pain and rubbing sensation.
Patellofemoral strain (chondromalacia patella) mostly occurs in young people, such as athletes, mountaineers, dancers and so on. The incidence rate is 36.2%, especially in women aged 30-40 years old, with an incidence rate of 50%. If not treated and controlled at an early stage, it can lead to further degenerative lesions.
Patellofemoral strain starts slowly, with initial vague knee pain and weakness, followed by painful pressure around the patella, aggravated by exertion, difficulty in walking up and down stairs, and in severe cases affecting walking. Pathologically, patellofemoral strain begins with necrosis of the superficial chondrocytes, which destroys the function of the cartilage to take up nutrients in the synovial fluid, but there are no obvious changes in the early stage of X-ray examination. As the cartilage loses elasticity and the periosteum adjacent to the patella develops secondary to chronic inflammation, edema, vasodilatation and hyperplasia occur around the patella, resulting in patellar tenderness, and if the disease continues to progress, the patella will undergo a series of degenerative changes such as cracking and exfoliation. The X-ray also shows narrowing of the joint, roughness and unevenness of the patellofemoral joint surface, osteophytes at the patella edge, and narrowing of the patellofemoral joint gap.
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There is lubricating fluid in the space between the soft tissues of the knee. When the distance between the thigh bone and the calf bone is the greatest when the legs are straight, a certain amount of space can be created between the soft tissues. Legs straight lift up, the essence of the muscle force, you can lubricate the hydraulic pressure into the space between the soft tissue of the knee, to the soft tissue to replenish nutrition, a long time so can strengthen the soft tissue wear resistance.
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The knee can not be practiced, we can only increase the knee lubrication and strengthen the leg muscles to reduce the burden on the knee joint, protect the knee joint and improve the nutritional status of the joint.
Reduce weight, change weight-bearing and running and jumping exercises to swimming and cycling activities. Avoid sports that aggravate disease symptoms such as climbing mountains and stairs.
1.Increase lubrication night
Rub the lower edge of the knee with the fingers of both hands before climbing to promote the protection of the knee at lubrication night.
Sit flat on the bed with your legs straight, and with your legs guaranteed to be flat and straight, lift them up with force and repeat one hundred times. Attention! Can not both legs at the same time, to be carried out separately. Reasons and effects of this method.
Stretching the elongated hamstring and patellofemoral joint, which is beneficial to reduce the chance of knee injury
2, strengthen the leg muscles
Many injuries occur when the physical strength is not good. When thigh strain, people walk will unconsciously lock joints, lock joints means to stretch the leg straight, which can reduce the burden on the thigh muscles, temporarily relax their muscles, but it is easy to cause knee strain, so that the knee impact injury, ankle strain, ankle sprain, and lumbar strain.
Muscle training Developed muscles, especially the quadriceps, can relieve the pressure on the knee under certain circumstances and can minimize knee injuries. Usually do more leg muscle exercises to minimize the strain on the knee. Consciously strengthen the quadriceps (anterior thigh) and cruciate ligaments, enhance the strength of the medial quadriceps and thigh muscles (let’s say weighted squats), combined with the use of muscle stretching and lengthening, walking, horse stance or wall stick exercises, etc., to pave the way for smooth movement of the patella within the bad end of the femur. However, the bending-free flexion should not exceed 90 degrees and should be guided by a fitness instructor.
The following seven types of exercises have a rehabilitative effect.
① weight lifting heel (tiptoe) is mainly to train the calf flounder muscle in the lifting heel down when the thigh muscles tighten, the thigh muscles are also practiced, so that the thigh muscles stretch and lengthen.
② supine bed, legs straight, lift up from the bed about 30 degrees, adhere to 10 seconds, every 10-20 times for a group, training until the muscle has a sense of soreness. You can also tie the appropriate weight of sandbags on the calves for straight leg raising training.
③Standing pile exercises: holding ball pile, holding tree pile, knee slightly curved, like standing non-standing, hip slightly sunk, like sitting non-sitting, half an hour a day; horse stance pile, curved knee, hip, but not less than 90 degrees, as a half squat, adhere to 3-5 minutes, every 2-3 times for a group, 2 times a day.
④Joint mobility exercises: As osteoarthritis is often restricted in flexion, so flexion training is important. Take the supine position, straighten one lower limb, bend the knee and hip on the other side so that the thigh is as close to the chest wall as possible, and then alternate exercises on the other lower limb. You can also bend the knee and hip with your own hands to increase joint mobility.
⑤ Swimming and walking are the best exercises that do not increase the weight-bearing capacity of the knee joint, but also allow the muscles and ligaments around the knee joint to be exercised. Water exercise: water has buoyancy, which can reduce the load of weight on the joint, and water has resistance which is good for muscle exercise. Water walking training and swimming are recommended. Swimming is also an excellent aerobic exercise, can enhance physical fitness. Slow walking: slow walking is a simple and practical form of exercise, conducive to the metabolism of cartilage and prevent muscle wasting atrophy.
(6) Sit-ups, push-ups, bridge arches and the repeated practice of raising and lowering the two retreats on the supine bed, imitating pedaling a bicycle, are the best exercises for patients.
(7) Isotonic and isometric muscle training: Go to the hospital or rehabilitation center and use special equipment to perform isotonic resistance muscle training for the corresponding parts of the muscles. When available, isometric muscle strength exercises can be performed to help restore muscle strength better and faster.
Targeted muscle exercise does help, but only “help”.
3, reduce the wear and tear on the knee. The knee is sometimes attrited when you’re having fun, but it’s a loss when you’re exercising; exercise that helps protect the knee, either by developing muscle strength and symmetry, or by certain stretching exercises.
When the leg step is bent, the soft tissue inside the knee is in close contact and the lubricating fluid does not protect the knee well. Long periods of weight-bearing hiking cause hard friction within the knee, leading to soft tissue aging. All prolonged knee bending movements can lead to soft tissue aging.
①Lose weight, reduce self-weight is the first task of obese people to protect the knee, excessive weight hurts the knee all the time.
② Pay attention to walking and working posture, do not twist your body to walk and work, do not land on only one side of a particular foot. Flexion and extension of the knee joint while carrying weight should be avoided as much as possible. Avoid acute and chronic soft tissue injuries at the knee joint, especially when lifting heavy objects. People who work in a semi-squatting position or who often stand up with their back bent, should be careful not to work for too long. Avoid squatting for a long time, because the weight of the knee joint when squatting is 3-6 times its own weight, squatting at work (such as car mechanics, sand turners) is best changed to a low sitting position (sitting on a small bench), sitting and standing for a long time, but also to frequently change positions to prevent the knee joint fixed a posture and excessive force.
Walking skills
It can be found in various areas of the mountain people walking as if flying on the grass, in fact, it can be found that they walk with the soles of the feet flat against the ground glide, feet raised not high, knees bent not much, relying on the thighs and body leaning forward, so that the rapid movement of the center of gravity, smooth and brisk marching to ensure, and the vibration is very small.
③ To wear thick-soled and flexible soft-soled shoes to reduce the impact on the knee joint and avoid wear and tear on the knee joint. Women should choose comfortable flat shoes, wearing high heels will cause a heavier burden on the knee joint. If you choose to jog, you should choose a good pair of running shoes, and change one pair for 2-3 months for high-intensity trainers and one pair for half a year for medium-intensity trainers.
④ Before each training must warm up, 15 minutes walking and stretching are very good warm-up methods. When practicing leg press, do not lift the leg too high to prevent excessive strain on the knee joint. When practicing taijiquan, do not squat too low, and do not play several sets in a row to prevent injury to the knee joint from being overburdened.
⑤ Bicycling rarely damages the knee, but racing and mountainous ones can increase the damage. When riding a bicycle, adjust the height of the seat to sit on the seat with both feet in the pedals, both legs can be straight or slightly bent as appropriate, the seat is too high, too low or when riding uphill hard pedal, have a negative impact on the knee joint.
(6) When the knee joint is cold, the blood vessels contract and blood circulation becomes poor, which often makes the pain worse, so you should pay attention to keeping warm in cold weather and wear knee pads if necessary to prevent the knee joint from getting cold, especially in summer.
(7) Soft ground, gravel slope, snow are friendly to the knee; avoid running on hard ground such as concrete, and treadmill should be adjusted out of some slope. The feet should be landed first by the heel, then by the sole and toe in turn, so that the whole foot rolls smoothly across the ground and avoid jumping. People with osteoarthritis of the knee should try to walk up and down stairs, climb less, stand less, and lift less heavy objects to avoid overloading the knee joint and aggravating the condition.
8 crutches, knee pads, hiking poles and supports also have a certain therapeutic effect on arthritis. It is best to use two trekking poles, one with shock absorbers and one without. The one without vibration can be used as a backpack support.
Shock-absorbing trekking poles are used for the main cushion support when going downhill, the impact of downhill accumulation is very large, ankles, knees, lumbar spine, so I used to put the staff long, downhill first with the staff to support the road in front, as if four legs walking, two hands extended into two legs, the key is to use the power in place, so that the force of vibration can be shared between the wrist and arm, reducing the impact of the lower limbs, so with shock-absorbing trekking poles and can reduce Wrist and arm fatigue.
4, reasonable weight bearing
Weight more than 1/4 of body weight, we must control the rhythm from the perspective of protecting the knee; more than 1/3 should be well considered how to reduce the impact. Consider using trekking poles and supports.
People who like to carry large backpacks for self-abuse may break through the tolerance of their carefully maintained knees in a few days and fall ill for years.
5, a reasonable diet should eat more food containing protein, calcium, collagen, isoflavones, such as milk, dairy products, soy, soy products, eggs, fish and shrimp, kelp, black fungus, chicken claws, pig’s feet, lamb shanks, beef knuckles, etc. These can replenish protein, calcium, prevent osteoporosis, but also to grow cartilage and joint lubricating fluid, but also to supplement estrogen, so that bones and joints better metabolize calcium,. Alleviate the symptoms of arthritis.
Researchers at Sheffield University in the UK found that green tea contains two compounds: EGCG (translated as “gallocatechin gallate”) and ECG (translated as “catechin gallate”), which can impede the production of enzymes that destroy cartilage and help prevent osteoarthritis.
6.Chinese herbal medicine internal consumption method
Take 60 grams of clove, 60 grams of mullein, 60 grams of blood, 60 grams of catechu, 60 grams of cooked rhubarb, 60 grams of safflower, 30 grams of peony bark, 20 grams of licorice, finely grind them together and take 10 grams each morning and evening, with yellow wine as a pill.
This formula is effective in promoting blood circulation and dispersing blood stasis, promoting qi flow and relieving pain. The Chinese medicine Xiaohuoluo Dan can be taken orally, 3 grams each time, once a day in the morning and once at night. It has the effect of warming cold and dispersing knots, invigorating blood and promoting circulation.
According to Chinese medicine, the kidney is the main waist and knee, the weakness of the knee is closely related to kidney deficiency, so you can use Guilingji, Kidney Strengthening Pill, Jin Kui Kidney Qi Pill, Liu Wei Di Huang Pill and so on. It is best to consult a doctor for evidence-based treatment.
7.Therapeutic method of Chinese medicine
Take Qiangwu, Angelica dahurica, Angelica sinensis, Hossein, Coriander, Paeonia lactiflora, Cornu Cervi Pantotrichum, Cinnamon, and the right amount of onion with red skin. First, the first eight herbs are finely ground together, each time take the appropriate amount of powder and appropriate amount of red-skinned onion pounding mixed with vinegar frying heat, cloth wrapped, hot iron the affected area, once a day. It has the effect of warming the menstruation and dispersing cold, dispelling wind and relieving pain.
Take 60 grams of angelica, 60 grams of frankincense, 15 grams of blood, 60 grams of catechu, 15 grams of qiangwu, 30 grams of dahurica, 30 grams of dahurica, 90 grams of bones, 60 grams of safflower, 60 grams of yuanhu, 60 grams of wind, the above medicines are finely ground and mixed with petroleum jelly into a paste, and applied to the affected area once a day. It has the effect of reducing swelling and dispersing blood stasis, soothing tendons and relieving pain.
8.Tui na massage method
①Patients take a sitting position, from the affected side of the thigh to the knee joint, pinch several times, first to relax the muscles, then in the painful area with kneading techniques, from light to heavy, and finally take light techniques, slowly massage 3 to 5 minutes, until there is no heat in the joint.
(2) Pressing the points of Blood Sea, Yanglingquan, Yinlingquan, Zhizhong, Zhuyang, Heyang, Chengjian and Chengshan on the affected limb.
③The operator holds the affected knee in the middle of the knee with one hand and holds the fingers at the medial and lateral gaps of the knee respectively, while the other hand holds the ankle and slowly straightens the affected limb.
④Flex the affected limb, bring the heel as close to the hip as possible, and then straighten it repeatedly 3 to 5 times.
After the above-mentioned massage, it can relieve muscle spasm, strengthen local blood circulation, reduce swelling and pain, and release tendon adhesions and muscle atrophy.
9, hot compresses on the leg muscles after exercise.
10, the soft tissue within the knee test method.
Lie flat on the bed, (if only their own legs straight sitting on the bed, legs must be straight, otherwise no feeling), with the hand of the tiger mouth against the knee on the extension, live, to ensure that the knee can not move back and forth, and then thigh force, if you feel significant pain is the knee within the soft tissue damage, if the pain is intense, is the soft tissue aging
11, once the knee pain, we must actively treat, take heat, physical therapy massage and other simple therapy, it can control the symptoms, such as pain still can not stop, then you should see a doctor.