Decrease Knee Arthritis Pain & Inflammation

So in another blog post, I wrote about how to Decrease Your Chances of Knee Arthritis and gave tips.

You also asked how to decrease knee arthritis pain and inflammation…The good news, or the bad news, is that the same 6 things that make you less likely to have knee osteoarthritis also lessen the knee inflammation so you have less knee pain.

See when all of the S.T.R.E.S’.D components are balanced you decrease the irritation at your knee joint which decreases the inflammation. When there is less inflammation there is less pain. 

Strengthen

Strengthen your muscles for knee inflammation. Strengthen your muscles to support your knees. When your knees are supported they can move in the way they were meant to which decreases friction. Less friction means less inflammation, less inflammation means less pain. One key thing for strength is it’s usually strength exercises at your hips that do the best to support your knees this way. 

Train (exercise) appropriately

Train and exercise the right way to decrease inflammation. Inflammation is normal after a workout. It should go back down after a few hours or days. To keep inflammation in check when you train stick to the 10% rule when increasing distance or amount of time spent exercising. For example if you run and you run 1 mile 3x/week the first week and you increase the next week, the amount of running you should do is 1.1 miles 3x/week because that’s 10% more than 1 mile. Any more than that is too much stress on your knees which leads to lingering inflammation that your body will have a hard time controlling. 

Recover

Recover to heal your knee. Recovery is key. It’s great to exercise it’s also great to give yourself a little TLC. Recovering there right way allows your body to heal and literally recover from the activity you did. Recovery includes sleep because when you sleep your body releases hormones that help control inflammation and during sleep is when your body can focus on healing. Recovery also includes ice, heat and epsom salt baths to reduce inflammation with the temperature and salts. 

Equipment that is appropriate

The right stuff for knee inflammation. Using the equipment that’s right for you helps decrease inflammation. Think about the shoes you wear for a workout. If they aren’t the right fit or style for you or what you’re doing your shoes could mean you’re putting too much stress on your knees. How much cushion does your shoe have and where is the cushion located on the shoe? The cushion part of your shoe helps support your legs. The right equipment like shoes means more support, more support means less friction, less friction means less inflammation, less inflammation means less pain. 

Stretch

Stretch your knee. Stretching helps keep muscles loose and limber which helps decrease inflammation because when your muscles are limber you can move the way your body was meant to. Have you ever stood up from sitting on the couch too long and your knees are bent and tight, your back is tight and you feel like you need to “uncrunch” from the sitting position? That’s because everything tightened up. Your muscles and your joints. By stretching regularly you keep your muscles loose and limber so they more readily go back to their normal position so you aren’t moving funny. Less tightness in your muscles means improved posture, improved posture means you can move the way you were meant to, moving the way you were meant to means less friction, less friction means less inflammation, less inflammation means less pain. 

Diet

Diet for knee inflammation. Eating and drinking food and beverages that support your body helps decrease inflammation. There are specific diets labeled as anti-inflammatory and you can follow something like that, which is great, but if the strict diet is too much for you focus on eating less or no refined sugar, and eating a balance of protein, good fats and carbs. Eating less sugar itself will decrease inflammation in your knees and eating protein will keep you full so you’re less likely to eat sugar, eating good fats will give you energy and eating carbs will give you quick energy. Remember to drink lots of water to help flush out your system and stay hydrated which decreases inflammation. Less inflammation means less pain. 

So there you have it. Focus on the 6 components of the S.T.R.E.S.’D System to decrease chances of knee osteoarthritis being bad and to decrease knee inflammation.

Have more questions about this?

Send me an email blog@dralipt.com with the subject “Blog Post Question” and let me know your question, and I’ll respond!