As the “important component” of supporting human upright walking, knee joint maintenance is very important. Once it is damaged, it will affect the movement and the quality of life. The causes of knee pain are complex and diverse, which are very common in young people to middle-aged and elderly people of all ages. How to make good use of the knee, maintain the knee joint and prolong the “service life” as far as possible? Zhao Chang, deputy chief physician of the Department of joint surgery and sports medicine of the Third Hospital of Southern medicine, came to help.
There are many reasons for knee pain
Early maintenance
Zhao Chang said that one third of the patients who seek medical treatment due to bone and muscle problems are related to the knee joint, and about 25% of the adults have suffered from knee joint pain. If they are professional athletes, the proportion can be more than half.
The causes of knee related acute pain include fracture, meniscus injury, ligament injury, tendinitis, bursitis, gouty arthritis, infectious arthritis, etc; Chronic pain may be caused by osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, synovitis, popliteal cyst, patellofemoral joint disease, etc.
The early diagnosis and treatment of knee joint disease is very important. If there are severe pain, obvious swelling, inability to stretch and bend, weight bearing, difficulty in standing and walking, joint pain and ringing and other symptoms, which are not improved for several weeks, it is recommended to seek medical consultation immediately.
Running doesn’t necessarily hurt the knee
Running knee
Whether it is easy to hurt the knee when running frequently has always been controversial. Is it true that running hurts the knee?
Zhao Chang said that the data showed that the incidence of arthritis in runners was 13.3%, that in sedentary people was 10.2%, and that in amateur runners was only 3.5%. For ordinary fitness runners, running is conducive to joint health, reasonable, moderate, moderate running will not hurt the knee. But excessive and intense running can cause joint problems. Patellofemoral joint disease is the most common cause of knee joint pain in young people. It is common in young people who love running, especially in long-distance running. This is the legendary “running knee”. Its incidence is about 20%, accounting for half of the clinical knee pain.
In addition to pain and swelling, the common symptoms of the running knee include strong pain in the front of the knee when going up and down stairs or squatting, and “click” or “rustle” when stretching and flexing. In addition, still walking or standing when “soft legs.”.
The treatment of “running knee” is mainly non-surgical treatment, including drug therapy, massage, physical therapy, muscle exercise and so on. When the symptoms appear, the knee joint should be limited to vigorous activity for 1-2 weeks to avoid further cartilage damage. When swelling, pain suddenly intensified, can first cold compress, reduce joint swelling, two days later hot compress. When the standard non-surgical treatment is ineffective or the symptoms gradually worsen, surgical treatment can be considered.
Why does knee osteoarthritis increase in young people?
Knee arthritis is another common cause of knee pain. Studies have shown that osteoarthritis is common in different parts of the elderly female population, and the incidence rate of knee joint is the highest. Is knee arthritis inevitable when people are old? Now more and more young people will be diagnosed with knee arthritis, and why?
Zhao Chang said that as a chronic systemic disease, osteoarthritis is also a degenerative change of articular cartilage, which is really closely related to age. However, the “age” of the knee joint is not necessarily proportional to the actual age of the person. It does not mean that people will definitely have knee arthritis when they are old, nor that young people will not get sick, especially young people who often take strenuous exercise or use incorrect exercise methods will have a higher risk of getting sick. In a word, the key is maintenance.
In the early stage of knee arthritis, there may be pain after going up and down stairs and exercise, and the rest will be improved. In the middle stage of development, it may show pain when moving joints or walking, and gradually develop to pain even when resting or at night, even deformity and limited activity, which affects life.
Routine maintenance of knee joint
Zhao Chang said that daily maintenance of the knee, first of all, to start from reducing weight, obese people, knee will consume more. For every kilogram of weight lost, the knee joint will be several times easier.
Secondly, long-term flexion and adduction walking can accelerate cartilage wear. For those with early symptoms, wearing the corresponding brace can alleviate the progress of osteoarthritis.
Thirdly, avoid sports injury. Warm up before exercise, pay attention to the standard movement, choose the appropriate venues and sports equipment, pay attention to physical fitness, muscle strength, flexibility, coordination training, avoid excessive fatigue and forced exercise. We should choose the type and intensity of exercise according to individual physical fitness and physique. Ordinary people suggest that the increase of exercise time and intensity per week should not exceed 10% of the previous week; If there is obvious discomfort on the next day after exercise, we should take a proper rest.
Diet, should pay attention to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, supplement vitamin C, D, middle-aged women appropriate supplement folic acid, are very beneficial to knee health.
It is also an important intervention measure to prevent knee joint disease to improve the poor alignment of lower limbs. Knee varus and valgus are common in daily life, that is, O-shaped legs and X-shaped legs. The knee joints of this kind of people are easier to relax and accelerate wear, and the risk of knee osteoarthritis is several times higher than that of normal people. Therefore, if it is serious, we should consult the doctor as soon as possible.
If the knee joint has been worn and degenerated to a certain extent, attention should be paid to:
Don’t exercise for too long. When the knee feels uncomfortable, take a rest immediately.
Do not do large amount of exercise, such as fast running, high jump, long jump.
Do not do the knee half flexion rotation to prevent meniscus injury.
Keep your ideal weight to reduce the load on your knees.
Pay attention to keep your knees warm. You can wear trousers and kneepads to protect your knees.
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