Protect your knees at all times!

Knees are one of the most important parts of your body, especially because they carry your body weight and help you move around. Sadly, unless we ourselves undergo health issues related to the knee, we realise their true importance. Did you know that it is in fact small pains in the knee that lead to walking issues in the future?

Recently, a surgery was held at the Medanta Bone and Joint Institute (MBJI) where Dr Ashok Rajgopal (Chairman of Medanta Bone & Joint Institute) carried out a successful segmental resection and total knee replacement surgery using a highly specialized implant. Following which, the patient is able to walk normally.

The 55-year-old lady had met with a traffic accident in 2006 and sustained a fracture of the shaft of her left femur (the long thigh bone). She was treated locally with a series of surgeries for fracture fixation, implant failure and infection. The treatment that started in 2006 was carried out till 2009 with no benefit at all. Finally the leg was left to heal on its own.

Talking to Dr Rajgopal, we came face to face with some harsh realities.

Common mistakes that hurt knees

The top reason for knee concerns is obesity. It plays a pivotal role in many diseases and physical disorders, knee wear and tear being one of them. The more weight knees have to carry, the more they suffer.

Second in line are athletes and people who lift heavy weights. They should lay strong emphasis on knee health and should check their posture at all times as they harm your knees majorly. A lot of sportsmen in the country end with bad careers just because they neglect the small pains that eventually lead to major disorders.

Acute bending of knees and bad postures must be avoided at all costs. These unnatural movements put unnecessary stress on the knee joints and cause irreversible damage in most of the cases. One should leave no room for error when it comes to being healthy, leave alone knees.

Poorly controlled diabetes, thyroid are also major contributors to knee issues. Thyroid is directly associated to joints and must be kept in check at all times. People suffering from thyroid imbalances need to put in extra efforts in order to avoid and improve knee pains.

Sitting for long hours in the office chair does not really harm the knees unless you are sitting with strain on the knees. So avoid sitting cross-legged as it puts unnecessary pressure on your knees.

Exercises for better knee function

Walking – Walk as much as you can. Walking keeps the blood flow in legs constant; the activity further helps one lose extra body fat and paves way for a healthy body. If you are glued to your work desk for most time of the day, it’s time to take frequent breaks, maybe every two hours.

Running – Knee joints go through tremendous fitness regime when one runs, and the fitness regime helps one maintain and enhance levels of endurance in knees. However, make sure your posture is correct and you don’t put your knees at risk.

Swimming – Swimming is one of the best fitness activities that do not stress your knees in the wrong manner. In fact, you do not break into sweat, strengthen your muscles, increase endurance while you have fun. Many sports teams have specially designed exercises that involve swimming for endurance training.