When knee problems occur, many people don’t know what to do. Some people think exercise is good, others think rest and recuperation is necessary. There are many different opinions and opinions. In fact, there are many misconceptions about how to exercise with osteoarthritis of the knee.
1, Myth 1: Exercise will accelerate the aging of the knee joint
The existence of the knee joint is to help humans to complete walking and movement, reasonable exercise can increase the strength of the leg muscles and ligament elasticity, effectively reducing the incidence of knee arthritis in the elderly and reduce pain.
Older adults with knee problems should avoid strenuous exercise and weight-bearing activities and instead choose exercises that are less damaging to the knee joint. Such as swimming, cycling and jogging. Jogging can enhance the elasticity of joint ligaments and the coordination of joint movements. But the elderly can not run too fast, not too strong. It is best to let the front part of the foot hit the ground first when running, so as to cushion the vibration of the leg and prevent knee injury. In addition, the elderly should try to avoid squatting, especially weighted squats. If you have to squat, then the speed should be slow and try to use your hands to support.
2, myth two: a lot of exercise can “grind” off bone spurs
In order to maintain the flexibility of the spine, knee and ankle joints and reduce the interference of bone spurs on the surrounding soft tissues, it is necessary to engage in appropriate physical activity. In addition, exercise allows the soft tissues around the bone spur to adapt to the local stimulation of the spur as soon as possible, thus reducing discomfort and pain in the body. However, it is impossible to “wear out” the bone spur; on the contrary, excessive exercise can aggravate the damage to the knee joint.
3, misconception three: climbing mountains to exercise the knee joint
Many older people have the habit of climbing. Although climbing is a good exercise refining cardiorespiratory function, fat reduction exercise, but it is not conducive to protecting the knee joint. When climbing, the knee joint bears its own weight, and when going downhill, in addition to its own weight, the knee joint has to bear the force of the downward stroke, increasing the wear and tear on the knee joint. It is recommended that older people climbing up the mountain can walk, wear knee pads and use hiking poles, and the best time to take the cable car down the mountain.
4, Myth 4: Taiji can cultivate the body and exercise joints
Taijiquan does play a big role in national health care, so that some older people have something to do every day, but also exercise. But not for people with osteoarthrosis of the knee, because the knee joint has degenerated, playing Taijiquan if squatting too low, will increase the weight and wear of the knee joint, serious injury will also occur in the process of squatting. Therefore, people with osteoarthritis of the knee playing taijiquan, do not squat too low, there are difficult movements do not pursue must do.
Patients with osteoarthritis of the knee should choose the right type of exercise and avoid excessive exercise intensity. If there is difficulty in conversing with bystanders during exercise, it suggests that the amount of exercise is too much. Each exercise can be done in about 30 minutes, with breaks in between, no less than 3 to 4 times a week, and you must do warm-up before exercise and relaxation after exercise.
Knee osteoarthritis exercise must be less weight-bearing
Early knee pain is usually painful when going up and down stairs, or when standing up after sitting for a long time, are obvious pain when bearing weight on the knee joint, because weight bearing will increase the friction of the knee joint. Therefore, patients with osteoarthritis of the knee should perform functional exercises without or with less weight bearing.
Straight leg raise
Patients with osteoarthritis of the knee can straighten their legs while sitting with their heels on the ground, so that the legs are not bearing weight, and then hook their feet upward, to feel the quadriceps above the thighs tighten. This type of exercise is mainly to strengthen the quadriceps and reduce the pressure and wear on the knee joint during exercise. Most patients in the early stages have a more severe lateral patellar lesion because the lateral patellar ligaments are generally tighter than the medial ones, which yanks the patella outward during activity and wears the lateral side more severely. The strength of the quadriceps muscles can resist the strength of the lateral patellar ligament through straight leg lifts, keeping the patella in a normal position and reducing joint pain when going up and down stairs.
Squatting exercises
Squatting exercises are mainly for patients with early patellar cartilage injury, which allows the patella to adapt to the pressure of bending, and also increases the strength of the quadriceps muscle to maintain the patella in a normal trajectory. The specific practice is to squat with your back against the wall, so that the center of gravity backward to reduce the weight of the knee joint; do not squat too deep, bending the knee about 30 degrees is the best, the maximum do not exceed 45 degrees, squatting angle will increase the weight of the knee joint; two feet together or apart is okay. Do not squat too long, a squat 15 minutes ~ 20 minutes, a day in the morning and afternoon practice on the line. The elderly should pay attention to the gradual process of static squatting exercises, slowly adapt to the wall.
To the knee joint “injection” are to pay attention to what
When it comes to injections, no one is a stranger to them, and many patients often don’t take them seriously, thinking that it’s just a shot into the knee joint, which doesn’t sound complicated, so just find a clinic and do it, but is that really right? What are the rules for giving knee injections and what should I pay attention to afterwards?
For the injection of sodium vitreous acid, a course of treatment requires 3-5 injections, usually once a week. After two or three injections can take effect, the effect can be maintained for two or three months, but some patients due to heavy or too mild disease, the role of the injection is not obvious.
Since the injection of sodium vitreous acid requires 3~5 injections in a row, coupled with the large number of patients in large hospitals, many patients are reluctant to always go to the hospital for injections and return to a small clinic near their home after one injection in the hospital, which is not recommended. Although the knee cavity is large and it may seem easy to inject the drug into it, it is not. The knee joint is made up of many structures and it is important to not only accurately inject the medication into the joint cavity, but also to avoid other tissues. A common injection site is from the lateral aspect of the suprapatellar capsule. General clinics and even community hospitals cannot guarantee that the drug will be injected into the joint cavity, which often results in the following consequences: first, the drug is wasted and suffers for nothing; second, it is easy to hit the soft tissues, as the molecular weight of sodium glass is very large, which will cause swelling and pain in the soft tissues and is difficult to absorb; third, if the sterilization is not qualified, it is easy to cause infection. So try to inject in a large hospital and have a start and finish.