The knee, the largest and most complex joint in the body, is a hinge joint, and it is one of the few joints in our body that can only move in one direction. The knee is also the largest weight-bearing joint in the human body, and the average knee joint in a normal person can support 35 kg of weight. The more weight you carry, the greater the chance of wear and tear on the cartilage of the joint, and the tendons are prone to injury and faster degeneration of the knee joint.
Knee weight-bearing multipliers are as follows.
1.When lying down, the weight-bearing of the knee is almost zero.
2.When standing up and walking, the weight of the knee is about 1 to 2 times.
3.When going up and down slopes or up and down steps, the weight on the knee is about 3 to 4 times.
4.When running, the weight of the knee is about 4 times.
5.When playing ball, the weight of the knee is about 6 times.
6, squatting and kneeling, the weight of the knee is about 8 times.
For example: a person weighing 50kg, for each step, the knees have to bear about 200kg of weight. (50 * 4 times)
The human knee joint quality has 15 years of best condition
Before the age of 15.
The knee joint is in the developmental stage, and most of the growing pains in adolescence occur near the knee joint.
15 – 30 years old.
The knee joint is in “perfect condition” and works tirelessly. As long as the knee tissue is not damaged, it is not felt.
Ages 30-40.
The patellofemoral cartilage develops early and mild wear and tear, and a period of weakness occurs, with short-term knee pain lasting a few weeks to a few months, which some people do 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 strenuous exercise should be avoided during this period. From this time on, the knee joint can no longer be used as you wish.
Ages 40-50.
After walking long distances, the inside of the knee joint tends to become sore and painful, which is relieved by gentle rubbing. In the knee joint, the meniscus serves to cushion vibrations and maintain stability. Since 60% of the body weight is supported by the medial side of the knee joint, 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. This phenomenon is a reminder that it is time to start taking care of your joints.
Over 50 years of age.
This is because the patellofemoral cartilage has reached the end of its “useful life”, the cartilage is worn down and arthritis has developed. This is the time to conserve the use of the joint, reduce strenuous exercise, especially stairs and climbing, and use crutches if necessary to reduce the stress on the knee joint.
Causes of knee pain in middle-aged and elderly people
After middle age, the tendons and ligaments of the knee joint begin to undergo degenerative changes, the synovial fluid secretion in the joint cavity decreases, the bone surface of the joint rubs together for a long time to form bone wear, and the tissues around the joint are prone to fibrous adhesions due to inflammation, so the elderly often feel stiffness in the knee joint.
This is why the elderly often feel stiffness in their knee joints. When they move, they will make a “clicking” sound or frictional sound, and when they are cold or overly active, they will experience pain, swelling, and fluid accumulation in the joint cavity, and in severe cases, they will have deformed joints and become disabled. Specifically, the causes of knee pain in the elderly are as follows.
1, chronic synovitis: chronic pain and swelling in the knee joint. Synovial effusion and synovial hypertrophy can be seen on physical examination.
2. Patellar deviation: the knee joint is sore and weak after activity, improves after rest, and is painful when semi-squatting.
3, free body in the knee joint: the patient’s leg is weak or has a feeling of joint stuck, and there is a friction sound under the patella.
4, prepatellar bursitis: there is a history of trauma, causing prepatellar pain, and localized pressure pain on physical examination.
5, osteoarthrosis: joint pain is obvious after sitting or squatting for a long time, when standing up or going up or down stairs, and relieved after rest.
6, pseudogout: more male patients, preferably in the knee joint. X-rays show calcification of meniscus and articular cartilage surface.
7, femoral head necrosis: hip lesions with knee pain symptoms.
Pain in different parts of the knee joint
1, pain in the lateral iliotibial band of the knee.
2, pain around the knee before the knee, also called patellofemoral joint pain.
3, Pain above the knee, which may be quadriceps tendonitis.
4. Pain above the kneecap or on the inside of the upper tibia, which may be bursitis.
Daily care for sore knees.
1, do not walk too long on the road, and rest immediately when your knee feels uncomfortable.
2, do not do heavy exercise, such as running, high jump, long jump.
3, avoid half squat, full squat or kneeling position. Such as squatting horse stance.
4, do not do the knee joint half flexion rotation action, to prevent half plate injury.
5, maintain the ideal weight to reduce the burden on the knee.
6, pay attention to the warmth of the knee, you can wear long pants, knee pads to protect the knee.
7, less heavy lifting, less wearing high heels.
8.Avoid trauma and overwork.
9, the choice of shoes is very important. A pair of shoes that fit can not only make you walk comfortably, but also reduce the impact and pressure on the knee during exercise.
(1) the instep part of the foot can be closely combined with the shoe, width, length are appropriate, can correctly maintain the arches of the foot.
(2) the weight of the shoe to light, the sole should not be too soft, and to a little thickness.
(3) The heel of the shoe can be about 2-3 cm high, the sole is too flat is easy to walk when fatigue.
(4) Shoes with non-slip patterns on the sole.
To relieve knee pain, the treatment recipe for acupressure points.
Acute sprains seek Liangqiu, joint effusion calf nose seeking.
Knee pain should be rubbed frequently.
Add the bile meridian and the knee Yangguan, and the hand three li will not stay sick.
Kneeling knees to draw blood down the method, knee disease elbow treatment to relieve worries.
Should I exercise when my knee is injured?
In the case of knee injury, unreasonable exercise will lead to secondary injury to the knee. Over time, the meniscus of the knee will lose its protective and cushioning effect due to wear and tear, and heavy people may have trouble walking.
The knee joint is a hinge joint and can only move back and forth, not left and right. If the knee joint is already injured, the first thing to do is to pay attention to protection. Simple back and forth exercises can be performed if allowed to promote blood circulation in the knee joint, but it is not suitable for strong activities, not enough movement will easily cause stiffness of the knee joint, excessive movement will accelerate the wear and tear of the joint, but the movement is still to the extent that the joint does not feel pain.
Through appropriate muscle strength, stability training can play a preventive health role for the knee joint
1, side lying exercises: lying on the left side, knees slightly bent, heels together. Head resting on the left arm, eyes looking straight ahead. The right hand holds a weight of about 1 to 2 kg, placed on the outside of the leg. Then tense the abdomen, tense the hips, lift the knee of the right leg as high as possible, hold the body still while lifting the leg, hold for a few seconds and put it down. Repeat the exercise 15 times, change legs.
2, leg lifting exercises: stand behind a solid bench or step, step on the right foot (heel do not overhang), and focus the weight on the right foot, the body is raised, the left foot toes contact the step, adhere to 1 to 5 seconds. Then lower the left foot and tap the ground. Repeat 8 to 10 times, change legs.
3, bridge exercise: lie flat on the ground, knees bent, feet apart, hip-width apart, arms on the sides. Slowly lift the hips and leave the ground smoothly. Then slowly put down. Repeat 15 times.
4, leg extension exercise: lie flat, knees bent, feet flat on the ground. Extend the left leg, set into the stretch
Pull the band or towel, grab the two ends of the band with both hands. Use the strap to pull the leg to the chest, and then force the calf straight, hold for 10 to 30 seconds to exercise the calf muscles and hamstrings. Repeat the movement 3 to 5 times, then switch legs.