The aches, pains, and stiffness of knee arthritis can truly interrupt your activities throughout the day. Every time you stand up, sit down, walk, take the stairs, run errands, and do chores around the house can be accompanied by the distracting pain of knee osteoarthritis.
The good news is that you can do several relatively simple things to help improve your osteoarthritis knee pain. Let’s talk about some of those ways in which you can minimize and possibly even eliminate your knee pain, and where you can go for a thorough and efficient medical evaluation and treatment of your arthritis so you can get back to enjoying your active lifestyle once again.
Osteoarthritis Knee Pain Management
Some of the best home remedies you can incorporate into your lifestyle in order to control your osteoarthritis knee pain include the following:
Make Specific Lifestyle Changes
You may be surprised at some of the “normal” ways in which you move, sit, and work might be contributing to your joint pain simply because of the positioning of your leg and knee. Is there a position or a motion when you tend to feel the pull of knee pain? If so, switch to a new and different position or motion.
Control Your Weight
Obesity and being overweight can contribute to the development of osteoarthritis. Weight-bearing joints, including (and especially) the knees, bear more stress with more weight that must be supported every time you stand and walk. Therefore, losing weight reduces this stress and relieves pain.
Engage in Low-Impact or No-Impact Exercises
Low-impact exercise such as walking or cycling, or no-impact exercise such as swimming, can all improve knee joint stability, flexibility, and muscle strength. Avoid vigorous exercises if you have knee osteoarthritis, as these can aggravate knee injury and pain. Find an exercise you enjoy so that you will want to implement it into your regular routine.
Change Your Diet
Osteoarthritis knee pain is aggravated by inflammation – and in particular, refined sugar can cause this type of inflammation. It is best to eat foods that can help to tamp down inflammation, such as:
- Omega-3 fatty acids (fish, nuts, seeds, plant oils)
- Legumes (peas, peanuts, lima beans, kidney beans, navy beans)
- Green leafy vegetables (spinach, romaine lettuce, cabbage)
Engage in Physical Therapy
Physical therapy utilizes specialized exercises and stretches to help reduce knee pain by strengthening the muscles which support your knee joints. Your physical therapist (PT) will show you how to perform simple, easy exercises that will help to increase muscle strength and flexibility in the legs, thereby helping to alleviate your knee pain by lessening the strain placed on the joints themselves.
Orthopedic Doctor for Osteoarthritis Knee Pain in Raleigh, Apex, and Brier Creek
If you have chronic knee pain from osteoarthritis, or if you have joint pain or muscle pain of any kind, visit the offices of Dr. Brett Gilbert. Since graduating from medical school and his Orthopedic residency at Duke, Dr. Gilbert has had over a decade of successful experience in treating patients with arthritis.
If you have any questions or would like to schedule a consultation with Dr. Gilbert, contact our friendly staff today by calling us at (919) 788-8797 or by filling out our easy-to-use appointment request form online now. We look forward to helping you enjoy lasting pain relief so you can get back in action!
