Tips for Getting Over a Muscle Tear
You’ve hurt yourself. You’re in pain and having trouble moving the injured area, whether it’s your neck, arm, leg, or another part of your body. Learn tips for faster recovery from a muscle tear.
Knee pain is a frequent complaint that brings many patients to orthopedic specialists. Sprains, strains, tendonitis, and arthritis are just some of the many causes of knee pain.
Our board-certified orthopedic surgeon and musculoskeletal and regenerative medicine physician at Urgently Ortho in Scottsdale, Arizona, understand the intricacies of the knee joint and focus on preventative medicine to help you keep your knees in good condition.
Did you know that the pressure on your knees when you walk is one and a half times your body weight? When you run, you’re putting at least five times your body weight on your knees. If you weigh 150 pounds, that’s 750 pounds of pressure.
Your everyday habits influence your health. You likely understand that smoking is bad for your health, but you may not realize that some common habits you may not even think about could be harming your knee joints. Following are some of the most common culprits that can result in knee pain and extra wear and tear on your knee joints.
Improper footwear can result in knee problems. If you’re a woman, you’ll help your knee health by forgoing high heels. They put tremendous stress on your knees and result in misalignment in your muscles and ankle and knee joints.
Your body posture changes when you wear high heels, and your walking gait becomes abnormal. You don’t fully extend the knee joint — which you should — when walking in high heels.
You can develop not only knee pain, but also pain in your lower back, neck, and shoulder from wearing high heels. Your shoes should have a wide toe box, have arch support, be comfortable, and distribute your weight evenly.
Have you gotten into the habit of becoming a couch potato because of the pandemic or just because it’s winter? Being sedentary is bad for your overall health — and for your knees.
If you don’t get regular exercise, the muscles and tendons surrounding your knee joint aren’t in shape; they’re weak. You’re more likely to sustain an injury with weak joints.
Get moving to increase your circulation. Exercise pushes blood and oxygen into your knee joint, bringing nutrients to the tissues that keep the joint healthy.
If you exercise, that’s great. However, do you always warm up before hitting the courts or the field? It’s tempting to skip a warmup, but that can cause a knee injury. When your muscles are tight, they’re under extra stress. We can help you develop a stretching and warmup routine that protects your knees and the rest of your body.
What you put in your body has a direct effect on your health. If you have knee pain, your knee is likely inflamed. You want to do everything you can to lower the inflammation. Some foods produce inflammation, and some foods fight it.
If you have knee pain, try an anti-inflammatory diet. Attempt to cut out sugary drinks. Limit sweets and alcohol. Investigate the Mediterranean diet. It’s an anti-inflammatory diet that can help reduce joint pain and help you feel better.
If you’re significantly overweight, you’re giving your knees a pounding every time you walk. Your cartilage may begin to thin and deteriorate prematurely because of the extra stress on the tissue. Make a commitment to lose the extra weight. You’ll do your knees a favor.
Call or message Urgently Ortho for an appointment today if you have knee pain. We promptly diagnose and treat your injury so you can get back in the saddle.
