Save your knees yourself! Scott: Practice these two moves to have "good knee strength"

"When the weather gets cold, knee joint pain will sound the alarm, and the rehabilitation clinic business will improve." Although knee joint degeneration is more common among the elderly, incorrect posture is also one of the culprits. Young people should take precautions in advance to avoid the commonly heard "runner's knee" or even "maid's knee" and "breaststroke knee". Rehabilitation doctors remind us to avoid making these five bad behaviors. As for saving your knee joints, you can do these two moves to build "good knee strength"! (Video/Photography by Jiang Minjun)

When the weather gets cold, the knee joints of many people are like weather stations, immediately sending out warning signs of swelling and soreness. They feel a limp when walking, and may even be unable to stand up after squatting. When going up and down stairs, it feels like the knee joints cannot support the movement and there is pain, etc. What are the warning signs of knee joint degeneration? How should we avoid NG behavior?

High risk of arthritis: aging, obesity, and NG behavior

Wang Siheng (Dr. Scott), a resident physician in the rehabilitation department of Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, said that joints are important tissues that control human movement. They look like a package covering two bones, with cartilage and synovial fluid in them. The cartilage provides a buffer for the connection between the two bones, and the synovial fluid is like a lubricant, allowing bones to move smoothly. Joint pain is caused by cartilage wear and bone-bone collision. In addition to aging and obesity, people are also at high risk of developing arthritis. In particular, there are 5 major signs below. You may want to do a self-test to find out if your joints have degenerated and worn out:

★【Self-diagnosis of the five major signs of joint degeneration】

Sign 1. Limited range of motion: The normal range of motion of the knee joint is about 0 to 140 degrees from extension to flexion. That is, when lying on your back, your legs are fully straight and your knees can touch the bed, so there is no problem whether you are squatting or kneeling. If you feel any clicking or pain in the joint when moving within this range, it means that there is a red flag in the knee joint.

Sign 2. Swollen and painful joints: The cartilage between the joints wears and becomes thinner, the bones lose their cushioning protection and rub against each other, causing swelling, pain and other inflammatory phenomena in the body.

Sign 3. Joint pain when squatting, climbing, and kneeling: Pain or aggravated pain occurs when squatting and standing up, turning around, jumping, going up and down stairs, and standing up after sitting for a long time. There is no pain or the pain is not obvious at other times.

Sign 4. There will be a crackling sound in the knee joint: When you squat down and stand up, there will be a crackling sound in the knee joint. If the joint makes a sound but there is no discomfort, it is not a big deal. However, if there is a sound and it is sore, you need to see a doctor.

Sign 5. Bone hyperplasia forms bone spurs: Once the joints begin to wear, the bone at the edges of the joints and under the cartilage will gradually proliferate and harden to form bone spurs.

In addition to the five major signs of knee joint degeneration and wear, Dr. Wang Siheng (Dr. Scott) said there are five common NG behaviors that can harm the knee joint:

★【Five NG behaviors that hurt your knees】:

NG1. "Kneeling" woman: If a housewife kneels on the floor to mop the floor for a long time, the repeated friction of the knee joints may cause water accumulation in the knee joints, commonly known as "maid's knee". There are multiple bursae in the human knee that protect the knee joint. However, if improper force is applied, causing repeated friction in the knee joint, water will accumulate in the bursa.

KO method: Don’t be a “kneeling” woman anymore. You can ask a vacuum cleaner to help you sweep the floor, and you can use a mop to mop the floor.

NG2. Wrong squat posture: In the squats often done during fitness, the knees are bent at an angle of more than 120 degrees. At this time, the medial fold will slide to the side. Unless the medial fold is abnormally wide, it will not be pinched by the kneecap. The correct squat movement will not hurt the knee joint. However, if you do not squat correctly, you can injure your knee joints.

KO method: When exercising the lower body, you can gently bend your knees 30 degrees, and try not to exceed 45 degrees. You can also use a sliding stepper or straight leg raises to exercise, which is safer.

NG3. Riding a bicycle on a slope that is too steep: For middle-aged and elderly people, if their muscle endurance is not enough, if they do not warm up before riding a bicycle, ride for too long at a time, or challenge the slope that is too steep or the intensity is too high, it is indeed possible to cause damage to the knee joint.

KO method: Cyclists should warm up before setting off, do some stretching exercises, and adjust the bicycle seat and handlebar height. The best vehicle seat height should be when you sit on the cushion with your feet straight, with the soles of your feet just at the lowest point of the pedals and the heels touching the pedals; when riding, step on the pedals with your toes, and the big toe should be on the axis close to the foot joint.

NG4. Going down the stairs: When going down the stairs, there will be an impact force, which will increase the friction on the knee joints.

KO method: When going down the stairs, it is best to take small steps, wear air cushion shoes, wear knee pads, and walk sideways, mainly to control muscle strength.

NG5. Breaststroke: When swimming breaststroke, your legs need to clamp water. Naturally, the water will have a reaction force to impact the knees, causing burden on the knee joints, hence the term "breaststroke knee". Also, when playing basketball with sudden stops and jumps, be careful not to cause excessive impact on the knees.

KO method: If you already feel pain in your knees, you can change to freestyle. No matter which swimming posture you use, you must use the correct movements to avoid repeated bending of the knee joints.

Dr. Scott recommends that if the average person or someone who already has knee degeneration, they can do the following two simple movements, including: "squats" and "quadriceps training":

Squat

method:

1. Push your hips back first.

2. Start bending your feet downward again.

3. Open your legs to at least shoulder width.

4. The upper body will lean forward slightly.

5. The knee should be in a straight line with the second and third toes.

Note: The correct squat posture will not only not put a greater burden on the knees, but on the contrary can help relieve knee pain. Reminder: When doing squats, do not turn your feet inward to avoid knee injuries.

Quadriceps training

method:

1. Sit on a chair with a backrest with your feet open.

2. Lift one of your feet and straighten it perpendicular to your body. You will feel a slight soreness in the thigh above your foot. Hold it for 10 seconds and then put it down.

3. Switch to the other foot and do the same lifting movement, hold for 10 seconds and then put it down.

4. This is considered a set of exercises. Take turns doing this for 10 minutes, at least 3 times a day.

Benefits: Generally speaking, the stronger your quadriceps are, the better they are at absorbing the force of knee impact and slowing down symptoms of degenerative arthritis.