Mar

Week of March 22nd

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Knee Pain: 5 Ways to Handle the Hurt

from The Doctors Book of Home Remedies

An estimated 50 million people have suffered or are suffering knee pain or injury. Part of the problem is design, or rather the inability of knee design to change whenever human beings place new demands on it. If you’re one of the countless felons of knee abuse, here are a few things you can do to make amends.

Take a load off..Body weight is a major contributor to knee problems. For every pound you weigh, that multiplied by about six in stress placed across the knee area. If you’re 10 pounds overweight, that’s an extra 60 pounds your knee has to carry around.
Save the braces for teeth. Knee braces can be purchased at just about any sporting goods store, but experts say to leave them on the shelf. Some braces are truly meant to be preventive, but these are typically very complex and designed just for you: they can cost from $300 to $1,000. The wraps or braces you buy off the shelf at a store shouldn’t be used for anything more than to remind you that you have a bad knee. Some of them – by pushing your kneecap into the joint – can do more harm than good.
Try the rub that soothes. Some wintergreen lotions produce heat, and heat can be a symptom reliever and make you feel more comfortable. Sometimes, by covering the knee in plastic after applying the lotion and then wrapping it, you can make the liniment hotter. But you need to be careful that you don’t burn the skin or cause irritation.
Update your shoes. If your shoes can’t take the shock anymore, that shock has to go someplace. Where it goes is through your foot, up your shin, and into the knee. Sometimes it keeps on going, up to the hip and back as well. Runners that run 25 miles a week or more need new shoes every two to three months.
First and finally, stretch. PExperts emphasize quality – not quantity – of exercise and the importance of stretching. It’s very important to warm up and cool down properly. Take about 10 minutes and do very light stretching before. Not stretching to accomplish flexibility, just light stretching. Perhaps go through the motions of whatever exercise you’ll be participating in without really extending it. Then do a little aerobics – jogging in place or walking around. After you’re done working out, then you should really stretch. Try to counteract the pounding that the exercise put your knees through.