As people get older, it’s very common for certain parts of their body to get stiff, sore, and experience limited mobility along with pain and inflammation. One of the more common parts of the body to experience these things once people get to a certain age is their knees.
Because so much of your movement and mobility relies on your knees, it’s easy to see why this joint can experience a lot of wear and tear. But luckily, there are things that you can do to keep these problems at bay. To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for protecting your knees as you age.
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Keep Your Weight Within Healthy LImits
Your knees are a huge weight and pressure absorber in your body. In fact, your knees typically hold about one-and-a-half times your total body weight with every step that you take. So if you’re carrying around more weight than your body needs, you’re just adding more and more pressure to your knees.
Knowing this, it follows that losing even a small amount of weight can help take a lot of pressure off of your knees and make their job a lot easier. Your knees will become stronger and experience less deterioration as they work to hold up a healthy amount of weight rather than trying to withstand an unhealthy amount of weight. So if you have some weight you could lose, you’ll be happy to see how much easier it is to walk with just 10 or 20 pounds gone.
Start With Your Feet
To have healthy knees and protect your knees from unnecessary harm, it’s wise to start with your feet, which offer support for your knees.
If you’re wearing the wrong shoes or shoes that don’t support your feet the way they should, you can experience pain and pressure all up and down your leg, including your knees. But if you’re wearing shoes that prevent the rolling of your ankle and offer good support for your feet, you can take a lot of the stress and load off of your knees, which can make your knees healthier and more mobile.
Try To Remain Active
Another great way you can protect your knees from pain and stiffness is to remain as active as you’re able to at your age.
When you use your knees, you help to keep them lubricated and from getting too sore. Even if you’re stuck in a wheelchair or at an assisted living facility, you can still do physical therapy and other exercises that can help your knees remain fluid and keep things moving well.
If you’re already experiencing knee pain at your age, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn how you can keep this pain at bay and protect your knees from further issues.
