“Why do I have knee pain?”
This is a popular question we keep hearing in the clinic. If your new lockdown routine is causing you knee pain, then we have some tips to share with you.
Has your routine been turned upside down?
We’ve been helping loads of patients who have picked up new aches and pains since we’ve been in lockdown.
It’s a sad fact that a new routine brings new aches and pains.
And, people’s routines have definitely been turned upside down right now.
People are doing a lot of different things now.
From playing with kids on the floor and picking them up more frequently…
Going out for a run or bike ride for the first time in years…
Sitting down more on hard chairs trying to “work from home”…
Doing more gardening or DIY and experiencing new neck or shoulder pain that wasn’t there before.
We’ve seen a spike in things like KNEE, BACK and NECK pain from mothers, fathers, and grandparents, who are now getting down on the floor to spend more time with their children than they’ve ever done before.
We’ve also seen the same with grandparents – offering to help home school and look after their grandchildren, so that their own children can continue to go to work, but as a consequence they’ve picked up new injuries.
The new pains are off bending over and kneeling more, having your back twisted, running around after them, and just generally picking children up more right now than if they were at school.
Can you relate to this? If yes… You are not alone!
Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be sharing lots of tips to help people that’s routine has suddenly changed.
Firstly, we’re going to focus on knee pain.
Is your new routine affecting your knees? Here’s our top tips to ease knee pain…
As with easing and ending other pains, there are things you can be doing to EASE KNEE PAIN NATURALLY – that means WITHOUT TAKING PAINKILLERS or needing injections or surgery.
One of them is making sure your knee muscles are strong enough to cope with the life you want to live. These days, everyone thinks the answer to any problem or physical pain is to just ‘do some exercises’. As if any will do. Yes, doing exercises is one of the secrets to ending and easing knee pain naturally. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about it.
And here’s the right way: If your knee is painful or swollen, the first thing you have to do is STOP exercising. If it’s not too bad, you can do a little bit of something like swimming (but not breast stroke) and take a gentle walk for 20 minutes or so on the flat surface, but you should not be carrying on with your usual exercise routine, because you’ll make things worse.
A knee joint that’s painful and swollen is a sign that your knee isn’t strong enough. It can happen for any reason, even no reason at all, but you need to understand there’s a HUGE difference between exercising and doing exercises. The latter is what you need to recover a knee joint that hurts.
Our top tips…
1. Focus on improving the strength and control of your quad muscles. They’re the big powerful muscles at the front of your knee and the more support you can get from them, the less pain you’ll notice at the knee. Having strong quad muscles lowers your wear and tear risk too.
2. You also need to consider having lower back muscles that are strong and hips that move freely.
3. You need to be wearing the right footwear with enough cushion to absorb shock (the shock you get every time your foot lands when you walk) and be sure your feet are in the right position in the shoes you are wearing too. For that to happen effortlessly, consider wearing specially made foot orthotics (inserts). They really help people who are suffering from the state of their knees, or anyone who is just concerned about the overall health of their knees. If you like to be especially active, then wearing foot orthotics which slot inside your shoes and help you keep your body in the right position is likely to make a significant and positive difference to how your knees feel and how healthy you’re able to keep.
For more knee pain tips like this visit www.paulgoughphysio.com/knee-pain, and you’ll find a free 13-page knee pain guide waiting for you which shows you even more reliable ways to end knee pain without taking painkillers, injections, or trying to get in and see your GP. It could even reduce the risk of having to get knee surgery.
We are here for you…
If you’re in pain and would like to talk to us about getting some help, advice, or reassurance, remember WE ARE ALWAYS HERE TO HELP YOU.
We are safely offering both face-to-face and virtual appointments.
If you would like to get one of our limited slots, please click here to complete our enquiry form or CALL us on 01429 866771.
You might know Paul as an expert Columnist who writes weekly health articles for TWO of the North East's biggest daily Newspapers, The Northern Echo And The Hartlepool Mail, he is a regular Speaker at Industry Seminars around the globe and a Radio Personality, often heard on the BBC. Paul has been an expert guest on dozens of Radio shows and regularly interviewed in newspapers, magazines and trade journals all over the world, including the Guardian.
Paul’s background included working extensively in the Premier League with a Top Professional Football Team, and since quitting his job in Professional Football in 2007, his Physio Practice has become the fastest growing in the UK and biggest in the North East. So successful, that companies like BUPA, ASDA, The Vela Group And Coast & Country, repeatedly retain his Physio company's services to keep healthy their own staff and workforce. Paul Gough Physio Rooms is now a large multi-physio, multi clinic speciality practice in Darlington, Durham, Guisborough and Hartlepool.
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