The knee joint is the largest and most complex joint in the body, it transmits loads, participates in sports, is subject to high forces and is prone to injury, so reasonable protection during exercise is essential. Excessive exercise is often counterproductive and not only reduces physical fitness, but is also a factor in knee injuries. If you feel pain after doing exercise, or every other day, you should be alert to knee sports injuries. Prolonged pain, limping and swelling around the knee are all warning signs of a knee injury and should be seen by a doctor immediately.
I. Basic components of the knee joint.
In addition to the femur and tibia, the important supporting structures within the knee joint include
1. Lateral collateral ligaments: ensure that the knee joint can only move in the direction of flexion and extension during human movement.
2. Cruciate ligament: It keeps the knee joint stable in front and back during movement.
3. Meniscus: It acts as a decompression pad inside the knee joint, increasing stability and reducing impact forces. It is a common part of the knee that tends to wear out during sports.
4, fat pad: promote the secretion of synovial fluid in the knee joint, shock absorption effect.
5, patella: during the Warring States period, the famous Qi militarist Sun Bin was framed and sentenced to Bin punishment, that is, digging out the kneecap, which is the patella we refer to here. Protect the knee joint, increase the role of the knee joint muscle torque.
Second, the state of the knee joint at all ages
1.Before 15 years old
The knee joint is in the developmental stage, and most of the growing pains in adolescence occur near the knee joint.
2. 15-30 years old
The knee joint is in a “perfect state” and works tirelessly. As long as the knee joint tissue is not damaged, it is basically not felt.
3.30-40 years old
Patellofemoral cartilage has early mild wear and tear, there will be a period of weakness, short-term knee pain, lasting a few weeks to a few months, some people will not even notice. Patellofemoral cartilage is a 3-5 mm thick layer of hyaline cartilage in the human knee joint that cushions the knee joint from the impact of movement.
However, because the patellar cartilage has no nerve distribution, it will only sound an “early warning signal” once during the vulnerable period before the full layer wears out, and it is important to avoid strenuous exercise during this period. From this time onwards, the knee joint can no longer be used as it pleases.
4. 40 – 50 years old
After walking long distances, the inside of the knee joint tends to become sore and painful, which is relieved by rubbing it with your hands. The role of the meniscus in the knee joint is to cushion vibrations and maintain stability. Since 60% of the body weight is supported by the medial side of the knee, the degeneration of the medial meniscus occurs earlier. Because of the nerve distribution in the meniscus, people can feel soreness and pain during the degeneration process. The arrival of this phenomenon reminds people that it is time to start taking care of their joints.
5. Over 50 years old
This is because the patellofemoral cartilage has reached the end of its “useful life” and the cartilage has worn down and arthritis has developed. This is the time to conserve the use of the joint, reduce strenuous exercise, especially up and down stairs and climbing, and use crutches to reduce the pressure on the knee joint if necessary.
Third, which sports usually cause damage to the knee joint?
1, running
Treadmill damage to the knee joint is the most serious. Because the treadmill is a fixed-speed movement, if the athletes do not keep up with the coordination of the machine, the meniscus and cartilage will form a shock injury, especially not recommended to use climbing treadmill.
2, taekwondo, soccer sports
The technical characteristics of taekwondo and soccer require rapid flexion and extension of the knee joint, easy to cause ligament strains. Novice due to irregular movements, in order to complete the action is often forced in violation of the human physiological structure of the state, the meniscus is subject to sharp grinding, twisting and tearing.
3, basketball, badminton and other bouncing sports
Because of the project characteristics of bouncing sports, such as athletes knee often in a semi-squatting position, especially the repeated rapid rotation and rotation will make the knee burden increased sharply, stability decreased, easily lead to acute and chronic injury to the knee joint.
4. Mountain climbing
Although climbing is a good way to exercise, but it is not conducive to protecting the knee joint. Especially when going downhill, in addition to their own weight knee joints have to bear the force of the downward stroke, so the impact will increase the damage to the knee joint. The patella, meniscus and joint surface friction increases, which can easily cause injury.
Fourth, unreasonable exercise is likely to lead to the common types of knee disease
1, meniscus injury
Meniscus injury is a common injury in athletes, in the lower limb weight-bearing, foot fixed, knee joint slightly flexed, if the sudden excessive internal rotation of knee extension or external rotation of knee extension (for example, volleyball, players in the defense suddenly turn to fish leap to save the ball action), it may cause meniscus tears. A meniscal injury can be characterized by a distinct tearing sensation in the knee, followed by joint pain, limited motion, and a walking limp. The joint exhibits swelling and slipping sensations and pops when the joint is moved.
2. Traumatic synovitis of the knee joint
Knee joint traumatic synovitis knee synovial membrane is one of the main structures that make up the knee joint. Synovial cells secrete synovial fluid, which can keep the cartilage surface of the joint slippery and increase the range of motion of the joint. Injury to the synovial membrane due to trauma or overexertion can produce a large amount of fluid, which increases the pressure in the joint and, if not eliminated in time, can easily cause joint adhesions and affect normal activities. Patients will feel pain, swelling and pressure in the knee joint, and the synovial membrane has a frictional and astringent sound. The most obvious feature of the pain is that when the knee joint is actively and extremely extended, especially when there is a certain resistance to do knee extension movement, the pain in the lower part of the patella will be increased, and the pain is also significantly increased when it is passively and extremely flexed.
3. Knee ligament injury
Knee ligament injury mainly includes anterior and posterior cruciate ligament injury and medial and lateral collateral ligament injury. The stability of the knee joint is relatively poor when it is slightly flexed, and if it is suddenly subjected to external forces that cause valgus or inversion, it may cause medial or lateral collateral ligament injury. A high percentage of medial collateral ligament injuries occur in clinical practice. In this injury, for example, the patient will have a clear history of trauma, pain and pressure on the medial side of the knee, increased pain with passive abduction of the lower leg, and swelling on the medial side of the knee, with petechiae appearing after a few days. Knee movement will be limited.
IV. How to protect?
1. Do adequate preparation activities
When you have not exercised for a long time, the knee joint temperature is low, the muscles are sticky, the ligaments are stiff, and the muscles and the collateral ligaments on both sides are easily strained, causing knee injury. Preparation activities can improve the excitement of the nerves, so that the body quickly into the state of exercise. The time between preparatory activities and formal training should not be too long. Knee pads are recommended for sports, but they are not. Knee pads are generally used to protect people with existing injuries when doing rehabilitation, and are not recommended for healthy people.
2. Exercise in moderation
Research has not clearly shown how long you run or how many steps you take each day can cause knee injuries, but the words “exercise according to your ability” are very applicable. If you feel pain, take a break, relax your mind during exercise and enjoy the pleasurable feeling of walking.
3, appropriate choice of sports ground
The ground is too hard, small elasticity, too smooth or uneven field may damage the knee joint in the sport. Therefore, the exercise process is recommended in the plastic, wooden flooring and other hard and soft moderate venues.
4. Weather factors
In cold conditions, muscle viscosity, muscle ligaments around the joint stiffness, poor adaptability, easy to cause sports injuries, therefore, the climate is not suitable when it is recommended to exercise indoors, or some soothing exercise.
5, after exercise to relieve fatigue
After intense exercise to carry out some gentle exercise, so that the whole body muscles relaxed, the knee joint has a certain protection around. If acute ligament damage occurs during exercise, please seek medical attention.