Living with knee pain every day can be incredibly challenging and affect your quality of life. Whether the pain is caused by arthritis, injury, or overuse, finding ways to manage it is essential for maintaining your mobility and overall well-being.
For healthier knees, you should also incorporate balance training into your weekly routine. Balance training teaches the muscles around your knees to coordinate more efficiently, which translates to better knee function and fewer risks of injury, per the Mayo Clinic. For example, strong quads (the group of muscles on the front of your thigh) are crucial for knee health.
“Hyaluronic acid is a substance that healthy joints have a lot of and arthritic knees don’t,” says Dr. Day. It takes longer to start working than a corticosteroid injection, but the effect often lasts six months to a year. A weight loss program should include both diet and exercise. Some people have difficulty exercising to lose weight because their knees hurt. But any type of exercise can help, even strengthening the upper body. Many people find that ice is helpful when used to manage short-term knee pain.
Causes of Knee Pain
Knee pain can be the result of numerous factors, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, tendinitis, bursitis, ligament injuries, meniscus tears, and even simple wear and tear from everyday activities. It is important to consult with a healthcare professional to determine the root cause of your knee pain and develop a treatment plan.
Managing Knee Pain
Gout may affect just the big toe at first, but it can become extremely painful. You can usually treat knee pain at home by taking a break from physical activities and taking over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers. Visit a healthcare provider if you’re feeling pain that’s bad enough to affect your daily routine or that’s making it hard to move. See a provider if you experience knee pain that lasts more than a few days without getting better. For example, your healthcare provider may treat acute inflammatory arthritis with pain relievers, like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) or corticosteroids to reduce symptoms.
It can cause pain, swelling, and redness along the infected joint. Arthritis refers to joint pain, stiffness, and inflammation. If you have significant pain and swelling, fever, or other alarming or long lasting symptoms, your pain should be evaluated by a medical professional. Let’s go over some of the questions that people with knee pain often ask doctors. Although it can hit you at any age, knee pain becomes more of an issue as we get older.
You’ll notice a lot of inflammation and swelling with a meniscus tear, which is diagnosed with an X-ray or MRI. But when your body overproduces uric acid, or your kidneys aren’t functioning properly, “uric acid crystals can accumulate within joints, which leads to inflammation and pain,” Dr. Nguyen says. In healthy people, uric acid gets filtered through the kidneys then excreted through urine. “These injuries can lead to altered neuromuscular control, abnormal joint loading, decreased knee mobility, increased joint instability and ultimately cartilage deterioration,” she explains. “Obesity can also contribute to low-grade levels of systemic inflammation that can affect multiple joints,” she adds.
There are several strategies you can implement to help alleviate knee pain on a daily basis. These may include regular exercise to strengthen the muscles surrounding the knee, maintaining a healthy weight to reduce pressure on the joint, using hot or cold therapy, taking anti-inflammatory medication, or even considering more invasive treatments such as injections or surgery.
It is crucial to listen to your body and not push through the pain, as this can lead to further damage. By working closely with healthcare professionals and following their recommendations, you can find ways to manage your knee pain every day and improve your quality of life. Remember, you are not alone in this journey, and there are resources available to support you in your efforts to overcome knee pain.
