Do knee joints have a lifespan? Of course! Do these 5 things to extend the lifespan of your knee joints

Does the knee joint have a lifespan?

The answer is yes!

Here is a vivid analogy: our knees are like car tires. The longer the car is driven, the more the tires will wear out. Especially for cars that often drive on mountain roads and steep roads, the tires will wear out more seriously. If the left side is worn out, the left tire will become shorter, and the track of the car will also shift when it is running. In the long run, the car will malfunction. But compared to the service life of tires of several years , the life of our knee joints can generally be used for about 70 years .

As age increases, the risk of knee osteoarthritis increases.

According to a survey by the Chinese Medical Association, more than 50% of people over 60 in my country have osteoarthritis. That is to say, as we age, the probability of knee osteoarthritis increases. When we climb slopes, go up and down stairs, and run, the knee joints have to bear several times or even dozens of times our usual weight, which will put pressure on the cartilage and cause wear.

Here, Yongzhou Lingling District Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital recommends that everyone should consciously protect our knee joints from a young age to prolong the life of our knee joints.

How to protect our knee joints?

Here are 5 suggestions:

1. Exercises to strengthen the leg muscles

Especially for older and postmenopausal female patients, more exercise is needed to increase bone density. Strengthen the muscles around the knee joint, such as the quadriceps, hamstrings and calf triceps, which can effectively protect the knee joint. These muscle groups can be exercised through static squats, straight leg raising training, leg extension exercises, etc.

2. When exercising, be careful to avoid squats, mountain climbing, and long-term squatting, kneeling and other actions that are more harmful to the knee joints (try to use a toilet or toilet when going to the toilet)

As we age, the elasticity of our cartilage decreases, making it more susceptible to wear and tear. Blood circulation and metabolic levels also decrease, and the repair ability also decreases. We can appropriately supplement with glucosamine, calcium tablets, etc.

3. Choose a form of exercise

We can choose sports that put less strain on the knee joints, such as swimming, cycling, etc. These sports can exercise the body and prevent damage to the knee joints.

4. Wear knee pads

Wearing knee pads when the weather is cold or when exercising can effectively protect the knee joints and prevent cold and injury.

5. Control your weight

Being overweight will also increase the burden on the knee joints. We can protect the knee joints by controlling our weight through a reasonable diet and moderate exercise.

Hunan Medical Chat Special Author: Jiang Rui, Yongzhou Lingling District Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital

Follow @湖南医聊 to get more health science information!

(Edited by YT)