Dealing With Knee Pain? These Simple Moves Can Help!

Why Deal With Knee Pain When You Can Do These

Nobody likes achy joints, especially when they are in the knees.

But the sad reality is the most of us deal with knee pain. This can occur for many reasons including inactivity, carrying too much weight, poor posture, and poor nutrition can all lead to joint pain. Once you have the pain, it can be terribly hard to get around. If left untreated, painful knees can turn into arthritis or lead to knee replacements. So what can one do to heal achy joints and keep our knees healthy? In addition to changing your diet, there are some fairly simple things you can do starting today to reduce knee and joint pain.

The following article describes 3 stretches that can help alleviate achy joints.

See the article below and be sure to pass this along to any of your friends that could use some relief from knee and joint pain.

 

By ERIN KELLY

One of the best things you can do for knee health is simply maintaining an active lifestyle. “Your joints thrive on movement,” Rippe says. “Always try to remember that some activity is better than no activity.” Rippe recommends low-impact activities, like swimming, brisk walking, or cycling, and considering taking health supplements that provide glucosamine and chondroitin to strengthen and lubricate knees.

Since multiple muscles overlap the knee joint—including your calf, thigh, hamstrings, quadriceps, gastrocnemius, and soleus—and work together to flex, extend, and stabilize the knee, the exact source of pain isn’t always obvious. “This means you want to think about stretching all the tissues around the knees,” says Lauren Williams, a certified personal trainer and head coach at New York City’s athletic-based training studio Tone House.

Here, Williams shares three of the best (and simplest) moves that target all those muscle groups. Try to do these stretches after every workout to keep your knees healthy now and in the future.

1. Wall Calf Stretch

Calf muscles often get neglected during our stretching efforts. However, for those who run, do high-impact workouts, or spend a lot of time on their feet, calf stretches are very necessary, Williams says. Calves can get extremely tight from impact and need to be stretched to relieve any pain that might travel up the knee.

Find a wall you can lean against. Facing the wall, flex your right foot and position your heel right where the floor meets the vertical surface. Your toes should be elevated, while your heel remains on the floor. Keeping your heel on the ground and your leg as straight as possible, lean toward your front leg, holding the stretch at its deepest point. Lean in for five seconds at a time before releasing, working to deepen the stretch. Repeat the same stretch with your left leg. Aim for 10 to 15 reps on each leg—or more, if you’re still experiencing tightness.

2. Half-Kneel Hip and Quad Stretch

This stretch not only feels amazing, but it also works double-duty for your hip and quad muscles, Williams explains.

Kneel on one knee (feel free to put down a towel or mat) with your other foot planted flat on the ground in front of you. Make close to a 90-degree angle with both of your legs. Lean forward toward your front leg, stretching the front of your hip downward. Next, grab the ankle of your leg planted on the ground, and pull it toward your rear for a deep hamstring and hip stretch down the front leg, all the way to your knee. Move in and out of this stretch for 10 to 15 reps or more, depending on your level of tightness.

3. Straight-Leg Raise

Easy strengthening exercises, like leg raises, put little to no strain on your knee but also activate and strengthen quadriceps.

Lie faceup with one knee bent and the other leg the ground in front of you. Lift your straight leg up approximately one foot, rotating your leg outward (the entire leg rotates outward, so toes point on a diagonal instead of straight up to the ceiling). Do 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps, alternating legs. As you get stronger, add ankle weights up to 10 pounds.

See the original article from Greatist here.

Looking for even more exercises to relieve knee and joint pain? Check out this article from PositiveHealthWellness.com