We ask a lot of our knees. Our ability to stand, walk and move literally hinges on our knee joints as they bear our body weight. As we age, overuse or trauma to the knee can sometimes lead to osteoarthritis – a condition in which the cartilage in the knee wears away over time, leading to pain, stiffness, and loss of mobility. Physical therapist Linda Scott at Park Terrace Rehabilitation in Louisville has seen many cases of osteoarthritis in her long career working with aging adults. She offers advice for those of us looking to prevent loss of mobility, and those already experiencing it.
Movement: Linda says her best advice for preventing knee joint degeneration is consistent movement and exercise. “If you don’t move it, you lose it,” she explains. Low-impact activities such as walking, swimming, or cycling are ideal to help strengthen the muscles around the knee joint, helping to stabilize the knee and reduce the risk of injury. But Linda adds that even doing simple knee lifts and leg lifts from bed can help provide some protection and prevent more drastic actions down the line. Likewise, it is important to protect the knees from trauma. “People get in car wrecks when they’re 30 and don’t start feeling it until 20 years later,” Linda says. Using proper techniques and protective gear when doing activities that put stress on the knees (pickleball, anyone?) is important.
Surgery: Sometimes, whether from trauma or overuse, knee joints can degenerate to a point where knee replacement surgery is inevitable, Linda says. “People work hard on their joints when they’re young and then don’t realize the damage until they get older and it’s too late.” Determining whether surgery is necessary begins with a conversation with your doctor, who will suggest less invasive treatments such as physical therapy first. If a referral to an orthopedic surgeon is necessary, the most important thing is not to put it off. “I have seen patients who’ve put it off and just lived in pain for 10, 20 years,” Linda says, “just living in pain because they didn’t want to go through it.” Once they get the surgery, she continues, they often feel so much better that they wish they had done it sooner.
By Vanessa Hutchison
P.S. Relieve Your Joint Problems Without Surgery
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