Got this question sent to me yesterday by a “confused” reader of one of my newspaper columns suffering with knee pain:
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“Paul, I’ve suffered on-off type knee pain now for more than a year. What I cant put my finger on is when it started or why, and more confusing is that my pain gets worse at the day goes on.
But whenever I wake up, and the pain is gone – or is considerably less. Yet, by the end of another day, my knee aches, sometimes feels hot and swollen and I’m often in considerable pain – especially if I’ve been out for a long walk with the dog. Any ideas?”
– Diane, 51. Hartlepool.
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Ok…
What’s happening here is a likely to be a simple case of muscles around Diane’s knee joint being “weak”. As in, the muscles just aren’t strong enough to last through the day.
Think of it like this:
When you go to bed at night and are ready to sleep – your body is obviously tired from all of the energy you’ve used through the day. And your muscles, well, they’ve been working too.
So what happens is that they get a rest when you sleep, you wake up and they ache less because they’re less tired and feel “energised” and ready for a new day. But if a muscle, any muscle, is weak or damaged in some way, it’s not going to be able to support you through the long day ahead.
And so somewhere around teatime, after a lot of “being on your feet”, muscles will “pack up”. And when they do this, joints, such as your knees, are left to fight their own battles! And that’s not good. Particularly if you’re aged 45+… as that’s the period where cartilage really damage begins (arthritis) and surfaces of your knee start to rub together.
And without muscles to support these knee joints, (or just really tired and weak ones), you’re much more likely to suffer pain or aches.
The same thing often happens with neck and shoulder muscles at night too – and it’s the reason why when you have a the “flu” or a common cold, you always feel worse at night.
Ever noticed your child get more “ratty” as the night draws in if he or she has a virus? Same thing going on: body puts up a better fight after a good nights sleep, as it begins to get tired again through the day, the virus or bacteria wins the fight!
So the answer to Diane’s knee problem? Well, it’s likely to be a simple case of strengthening knee muscles (and hip and lower back ones too) to make them stronger.
But here’s something people often get wrong: walking a dog everyday will do very little to strengthen muscles – if anything, it’ll make weak muscles worse and mean you’re more likely to suffer more pain, not less.
No, the answer is not found in more exercising, it’s in doing the right exercises to strengthen the right muscles which means your knee will be strong enough to walk, meaning you can keep your heart and lungs healthy, and do it with less knee pain at the end of a day.
More knee pain tips and advice when you look here: www.paulgoughphysio.com/knee-pain
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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