How knee pain can affect you as an unwanted guest as you age

Our joints are protected by a protective layer called cartilage which acts more like a shock absorber to absorb the pressure put on the bones at their meeting points creating a buffer that makes it possible to move our joints easily and without pain. As we grow old or put our joints under severe or abnormal pressure, the cartilage begins to wear off and thins out making the joints vulnerable to develop Osteoarthritis which is also called wear and tear or degenerative joint disease. The knees are the most vulnerable when it comes to developing this disease as it is the only joint which handles high amounts of pressure and bends with a lot of force acting on it. It is known to affect mobility in severe cases by making the ligaments surrounding the joint more tough and thick in order to stabilize the joint as a corrective procedure by the body which further adds to the pain.

How knee pain can affect you as an unwanted guest as you age
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How to know if you have developed osteoarthritis in your knees

While there is omnipresent pain nearly all the time in the joint affected by this disease, there are a host of other symptoms that help distinguish it from other forms of pains that may happen to affect the same area. Stiffness is one of the major symptoms which happen at earlier stages which can lead to reduced ability to resume motion after a prolonged period of rest and the feeling of something thick in the joint that has added weight leading to pain in moving it outright. When joint experiences cartilage damage, bones come closer in contact and scraping sounds can be heard from inside the body whenever the joint is moved or put under pressure like walking or climbing stairs. Swelling occurs quite prominently and increases after every bout of physical activity or when the day ends receding after a period of rest. The pain can affect a larger surface area and engulf thighs and lower tendons in case of knee joint pain.

Ways of easing the pain and prevention

As the name suggests, knee pain is caused by excessive wear and tear and is developed majorly when you start to age. To relieve pain you have to prevent your knee joint from excessive pressure which starts mostly from reducing your weight as being overweight is one of the major cause of knee pain as when you get older, the knee starts to lose its ability to manage improper loads and the downward pressure in walking can cause the cartilage to get damaged easily. Control your diets and do regular cardio exercise to keep your weight in the manageable portfolio so that the pressure is neutralized in the area around the knee.

Avoid activities that are physically demanding like playing athletic sports and climbing stairs which can not only make the pain worse but aggravate the disease and cause a surgical intervention. People who have knee pain are quite vulnerable to falling over as compared to others which could lead to unwanted injuries. If the situation aggravates then it would be highly advisable to stay low and avoid excessive movements and keep someone to assist you with your daily tasks and one who could take you to nearest urgent care center in case of an injury. Eat protein rich food but limit calorie intake to make the muscles stronger and reduce the fatty tissue which could prove to be problematic in the long run. The thing to remember here is that knee pain is just not a disease, it is something which can alter the way you lead your life if you let it go out of hand, so take care of your knee as it is now yelling for it in a manner that you should have listened to a lot earlier.

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