As you get older, it’s sometimes difficult to imagine life without aches and pains. Knee arthritis can make it especially tough to maintain an active lifestyle and participate in the sports and leisure activities you’ve always enjoyed.
Our team at LA Pain Doctor, expertly treats the pain and stiffness of arthritis so you can get back in the game. As highly skilled pain management specialists offering the most advanced treatments for arthritis, our team makes a point of letting patients of all ages know that knee arthritis doesn’t have to be an inevitable part of the aging process.
Can you prevent this condition altogether? Take a minute to learn about these factors that may be contributing to your knee arthritis and, when possible, what you can do about it.
It’s typical to gain some weight as you get older, but if you gain too much, your knees are stressed. Carrying around extra body weight often leads to developing osteoarthritis, the most common form of degenerative knee arthritis.
Your hips and knees are weight-bearing joints. Extra pounds mean extra stress. Over time, that could mean joint pain and stiffness. Additionally, fat tissue produces proteins that may contribute to harmful joint inflammation, a significant factor of arthritis pain.
Losing weight and remaining active — even if at first it’s just daily walking or another low-impact activity — can help take the stress off of your knee joints and prevent pain and stiffness.
High-impact activities and repetitive motion may contribute to knee arthritis. For example, if you’ve been a runner all your life, you may begin to feel the effects of years of running on pavement once you reach your 40s or 50s. If you’ve worked in a profession that puts repeated stress on your knee joints, such as construction or textiles, or if you’re a professional athlete, you might develop osteoarthritis later in life.
It may not be an option to change careers, but you can change your leisure activities to lower-impact exercises. Instead of running, try an elliptical machine or brisk walking. Allow time to recover after a sports or work injury, too, so your joint has time to heal properly before you return to your usual level of activity.
These factors are certainly part of the equation when it comes to knee arthritis. Women are more likely to develop osteoarthritis than men, and some people are just genetically predisposed to the condition.
There’s little you can do about a past knee injury when it comes to preventing knee arthritis as you get older. However, if you’ve never had a knee injury, you can take precautions to prevent one.
Always wear proper gear when you participate in sports and leisure activities, and do exercises that build strength and increase range of motion. These steps help keep all knees as healthy as possible.
Delaying treatment for knee pain might mean your knee has a reduced chance of a full recovery, which can lead to more stress on the joint. If you’re already noticing joint pain and stiffness each time you get up from a chair or climb the stairs, don’t wait to seek treatment.
Our team customizes knee pain treatments that often begin with conservative measures such as lifestyle modifications and anti-inflammatory medications. Remaining active is essential, too, and our team can advise you on which low-impact activities — like swimming or yoga — can help you stay in shape while not harming your knees. He can also recommend exercises that are best for your type of knee pain so you can safely improve joint stability and flexibility.
Beyond lifestyle changes and activity modifications, our team also offers cutting-edge, minimally invasive therapies, such as platelet-rich plasma and stem cell injections. To learn more about preventing or slowing the progression of knee arthritis, call one of the five offices closest to you in Louisiana or click the button to request an appointment.
