The knee is the largest and most complex joint in the body, supporting the weight of our entire body with just a narrow contact surface. Studies have shown that the weight of the knee is almost zero when lying down, 1 to 2 times the weight when standing up and walking flat, 3 to 4 times when walking up and down hills or stairs, 4 times when running, and 8 times when squatting and kneeling. For example, a person weighing 60 kg will have to bear 240 kg of weight on his knees for each level of stairs, and 480 kg of weight when squatting and kneeling. As a result, our knee joints are often overwhelmed and suffer from various problems or pain.
Data shows that about 120 million people in China suffer from osteoarthritis, almost one in every 10 people. Chen Weiheng, director of the Department of Bone and Joint of Wangjing Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine and a special government allowance expert of the State Council, told Life Time that osteoarthritis is mainly divided into knee arthritis and hip arthritis, but clinical experience shows that knee arthritis accounts for the majority. At present, half of the people over 50 years old in China have this problem, and the prevalence rate reaches 60% after 60 years old, and by 70 years old, almost every elderly person will suffer from this disease.
Diet
Control the amount of meals. Obesity is the enemy of the knee joint. To protect the knee joint, it is necessary to maintain a normal weight and avoid increasing the burden on the knee joint due to obesity. Therefore, a low oil, low fat, low calorie diet, more fruits and vegetables, and a controlled intake of staple foods are recommended in daily life. Recently, the British “Daily Mail” inventory of the best nine natural foods for weight loss, they are apples, red pepper, seaweed, green tea, eggs, lemon, water, garlic, cinnamon, can be eaten in moderation more.
Eat more food with more calcium. Calcium supplementation can effectively protect the knee joint, should be based on dietary supplements, pay attention to nutritional balance, eat more dairy products (such as fresh milk, yogurt, cheese), soy products (such as soy milk, soy flour, tofu, bean curd, etc.), vegetables (such as carrots, cabbage, small rape) and seafood such as seaweed, kelp, shrimp, fish, and more sunshine to promote calcium absorption.
Exercise
Exercise according to your ability. Many knee injuries are caused by improper exercise. For example, people who seldom exercise suddenly engage in strenuous exercise, which can cause great damage to the knee joint. The knee joint itself is very fragile due to the weakness of the leg muscles and the violent impact of sports, which can easily lead to joint damage. Therefore, it is important to choose the right exercise for your condition, and to do it according to your ability, gradually and persistently.
Swimming and bicycling protect the knees. U.S. sports medicine experts recommend that alternating fast walking, slow walking, walking forward, walking backwards, and indoor bicycling, swimming, high leg raising and other sports in a diverse combination, is the best way to protect the knee, they have the least damage to the knee. And climbing, jumping rope, climbing stairs, squatting, running, especially downhill and down the stairs, the knee joint to bear the most pressure, obese people should reduce the knee joint pressure of these exercises, can be changed to swimming, cycling to lose weight, while paying attention to training thigh strength, in order to share the pressure of the knee joint. It is important to remember that if you feel uncomfortable during exercise, you should rest immediately and avoid overuse of the knee joint.
Daily leg lifts can protect your knee. You can do more leg lifts to strengthen the quadriceps on the front side of the thigh and the biceps on the back side of the thigh to increase the stability of the knee joint and slow down the wear and tear of the joint. When you sit on a chair, one leg is naturally on the ground, the other leg is slowly lifted, forming a 90-degree right angle with the body, lasting 1 minute in the air, then naturally on the ground, and the other leg is lifted, you can also try this action at work, which can exercise the quadriceps, keep the knee joint elastic, promote metabolism, and effectively protect the knee joint.
Living
Reduce squatting and kneeling. From clinical observation, knee disease patients more women than men, one of the important reasons is that women squat more times in their lives, and squatting and kneeling on the knee joint damage is greater. Therefore, to do less long-term squatting and kneeling action, do not squat to do housework or kneel to wipe the floor, like to play taijiquan elderly, and do not force squatting too low, standing to play high taiji on the good. When standing up and sitting down, pay attention to let the knee joint slightly appropriate repeatedly bend a few times, and then stand up or sit down, is conducive to protecting the knee joint.
Have a pair of knee pads. Cold and freezing joints can trigger joint inflammation, so it is important to keep your joints warm and avoid overly humid environments. Wearing a warm knee brace is an easy and effective measure for seniors to protect their knee joints. It is important to remember that sports knee pads, which can help the legs to exert force, are best worn only during exercise, not during the day, so that the knee joint does not become dependent on it and becomes increasingly vulnerable.
Don’t wear too thin soles. It is best to wear comfortable, stretchy sports shoes when exercising to reduce knee stress. In daily life, a heel of 2 to 3 cm is appropriate, and the sole should not be too thin, otherwise it will bring adverse effects to the knee.
Tui na
Remember the three “knee points”. Using scientific methods to massage the knee joint is also a good way to maintain the knee. Massage leg points to the outside of the knee joint foot three miles (four fingers below the outer knee eye), the inside of the blood sea (lower limbs tense, the upper side of the knee joint muscle highest, inside the blood sea), the back of the commission (the back of the knee N fossa in the middle), each point press 1 minute, three points in turn press 3 times, to a slight soreness is appropriate.
Spot rubbing of painful points. If there are pressure points around the knee joint, use the thumb and index finger to press and rub at the pressure points, such as the medial and lateral knee joints, the inferior patella and the posterior N fossa of the knee. Each painful point should be rubbed from light to heavy, and then from heavy to light for about 1 minute to promote inflammation absorption and release adhesions at the painful point.
Pinch the quadriceps. Use the thumb and the other four fingers to pinch the quadriceps muscle (i.e. the thick muscle in front of the thigh) for about 3 minutes, to the extent of slight soreness and swelling.
Training
1, exercise quadriceps that is, those muscles in front of the thighs sitting on the bed or floor, knees straight ahead, in the knee depression below a towel roll, tighten the knee for at least 30 seconds and then relax, repeat 25 times as a group, two or three times a day can be.
2, exercise the back of the leg tendon that is the tendon behind the thigh in bed, abdomen down flat, chin contact to the bed. Hang a 0.5 to 1 kg sandbag at the ankle, bend the knee, slowly lift the calf off the bed, and then slowly lower it, not yet touching the bed and then stop a pause. Repeat 5 to 10 times for a group, two or three times a day.
3, exercise calf muscles sitting on a sofa or stool, ankle hanging a sandbag of about 1 kg, calf up straight suspension, slowly put down. Repeat about 200 to 300 times a day.
4, stretching foot surface can sit on a chair to straighten the leg, in a straight position upward lifting the foot, once to do 15 to 20 for a group, continue to do 3 groups, two or three times a day, to increase muscle strength, joint stability is beneficial.
5, massage the legs with both thumbs in the bilateral legs to press the ring jump, foot three miles, Yanglingquan, Sanyinjiao and other points. Can also be sitting, one leg bent to 90 degrees, placed on the other thigh, one hand holding the ankle above, the other hand holding the toes to do rotational movement 30 times; then use one hand small fissure close to the heart of the foot, do rapid friction, heat is good; or a thumb to rub the feet Chung Quan point 30 times, to soreness and swelling is good, alternating between the two feet.
6, practice “swallow fly” prone on the mattress, slowly lift the head, as far back as possible, legs together, feet back up, shaped like a flying swallow. Older people can first complete the head action, and then lift the legs, and gradually reach 10 for a group, 3 groups per day can be.