Fit for Life: Knee Health - Protecting our biggest joint
A common health concern, especially as we get older, is knee pain. You don’t have to look far to find someone who complains that they have bad knees or who struggles with knee-related tasks such as standing up. Knees are vital to keeping a higher quality of life, so it’s important to think about ways we can help support them, whether by exercise or diet.
Can exercise heal your bad knees? Well, it depends entirely on your situation. The assumption of this article is that you are looking to preemptively strengthen your knees, not recover from an injury. In any case, your health is unique to you, and your situation might mean some of these suggestions won’t work. Knees are important to our mobility, so always consult your doctor before making major lifestyle and routine changes.
What are some of the best exercises for strengthening your knees? To no surprise, it’s mostly leg exercises. Squats are excellent for building your knees and a lot of lower body strength in general. If squats are too difficult, you can do a sit and stand exercise – this is essentially a squat, but you squat down on the edge of a chair before coming up. It might not seem like much, but that chair lowers the amount of weight your legs have to bear when you stop, making the exercise easier.
Another powerful exercise is lunges. Lunges especially support your ability to stand up from a chair or if you’re getting up off the ground, so if you have knee concerns, lunges are really great for functional strength. If your muscles aren’t particularly strong, these can be intimidating; it’s OK to start up by doing lunges by holding something such as a chair or anything else that will help stabilize you.
If these exercises are too hard and you do want to strengthen your knees/other muscles, it might be a good idea to start with low-impact exercises. If you have access to a pool, swimming is great for this, but you can also go with anything else that doesn’t put pressure on your joints such as cycling, yoga or an elliptical (not treadmill, mind you). These exercises are great ways to start strengthening your muscles while lowering the possibility of long-term injuries. If you have a sedentary lifestyle, starting with something low impact can be one of the safest ways to start exercising without damaging your joints.
You might have noticed I specifically mentioned joints in the last paragraph. If it hadn’t clicked, knees are actually joints – our biggest joints, really. There are foods that support joint health: fatty fish, leafy greens, and nuts and seeds are big examples. These foods can help reduce inflammation, strengthen your bones and protect your cartilage.
Just as our knees support many parts of our body, so, too, are there many ways to support our knees. Investing in your health now will help your knees continue to support your body for years to come.
