【Health Lecture】"Knee" related

In order to ensure the popularization effect of learning health knowledge in the 3rd China Elderly Health Knowledge Competition, the organizers have collected various health science articles suitable for elderly people to learn from various hospitals. We will share them through the "Health Lecture Hall" column. Today, Liu Xinfeng from the Second People's Hospital of Pingdingshan City, Henan Province, brought us "Knee-related", and welcome elderly friends to learn.

As China enters an aging society, healthy living and healthy care for the elderly have become a very important task! With age, body functions are also declining - just like a "machine" that has been out of repair for a long time, there are constantly various minor problems. We need to take care of our bodies like repairing and maintaining a "machine" to ensure its normal operation. Among the many "parts", the incidence of "knee joint" pain is extremely high among the elderly. According to statistics, the incidence rate of people over 65 years old in China is 50%, and the incidence rate of people over 75 years old is 75%, among which women are more than men. Knee joint pain seriously affects the daily life of the elderly. Without a good knee joint, we can't go out, go downstairs, walk, or even walk. Therefore, "loving the knee" and "protecting the knee" have become increasingly important and urgent. People are familiar with the functions of the knee joint, but they know little about the protection of the knee joint. Today, I will use professional knowledge, rich clinical experience, and easy-to-understand language to tell the story of " 'knee' related ". First, let's understand the structure of the knee joint. It consists of bones such as the tibia, femur, and patella, and soft tissues such as ligaments, menisci, muscles, and bursae. Its bone structure is like the cement pillars and floor slabs we use to build a building, forming the main framework, and its ligaments, blood vessels, nerves and other soft tissues are like the materials we use to decorate a house, such as wood, wires, and water pipes. All of them are perfectly combined to form a strong and durable "knee joint", which also shows the complexity of the knee joint structure. Similarly, damage and destruction of any of its constituent tissues will cause incomplete and imperfect knee joint function, which will in turn affect normal function, and the symptoms are pain, which may also be accompanied by stiffness, abnormal joint sounds, locking and jamming.

What behaviors in our daily life can cause knee joint damage? Such as excessive joint load, accumulated micro-trauma, malnutrition, stress imbalance, congenital malformation, trauma, joint instability, unscientific exercise, etc. In layman's terms, it is sitting for a long time, squatting for a long time, high heels, obesity, partiality, knee-leaning clothes, instability, deficiency, congenital structure, shoulder-carrying, back-carrying, mechanical injury, anxiety, desolation, unscientific. All these unfavorable factors, plus the accumulated loss over time, cause the knee joints to be scarred and miserable - just like a perfectly decorated house: the pillars are broken, the floor collapses, the water pipes leak, the wires are broken, and the wall skin falls off, causing lingering and inseparable damage and suffering to our body and mind. How can we reduce knee joint damage? How to protect our knee joints? Although the following methods cannot make the knee joints look brand new or restored to their original state, they can also achieve both life and work, and then a better life from the beginning.

1. Avoid sitting for long periods of time and squatting: Sitting for long periods of time and squatting slow down blood circulation, and muscles that stay in a fixed posture for a long time are prone to spasms and fatigue. You should move your body from time to time, but stand up slowly and not suddenly. You can use the handrails, tables, chairs, benches, etc. around you to stand with the help of your upper limbs; try to use a sit-down toilet when going to the toilet to reduce excessive flexion of the knee joints and shorten the time spent in the toilet. Don't have the belief of "sitting on the bottom of the prison until the end."

2. Lose weight as soon as possible: Losing weight through scientific and professional methods is the first priority in protecting the knee joint. Being overweight accelerates friction, damage and degeneration of articular cartilage; it also reduces other diseases caused by obesity, giving you the feeling of "losing weight in one day, benefiting you for life."

3. Wear high heels less or not: When standing, walking, or going up and down stairs in high heels, it is very easy to sprain due to uneven force. When walking down stairs in high heels, the pressure is 7-9 times the body weight, which is more likely to hurt the joints. In life, high heels should not exceed 5cm, preferably less than 3cm. Usually, wear them alternately with flat and soft shoes to give the knee joints time to relax and rest.

4. Reduce mountain climbing and stair climbing: When climbing mountains and stairs, the knee joints bear 3-4 times the weight of the body, which causes severe wear and tear on the knee joints. When walking up stairs or climbing mountains, try to hold on to the railing or wall or use a trekking pole to reduce the stress on the knee joints. Mountaineering enthusiasts should have the concept of "holding a pole and traveling to the end of the world".

5. Avoid walking on gravel roads: Although the cobblestone paths in residential areas or parks can help with foot massage, their bumpy road surface will cause uneven force on the knee cartilage, double the stress on the tissues around the joints, and make tendons and ligaments more susceptible to damage. Therefore, we must avoid "taking unconventional roads."

6. Exercise in moderation and in a scientific manner: When running or jumping, the force on the knee joint increases several times. If you do not do warm-up exercises, you are more likely to get injured. Swimming is a non-weight-bearing exercise that does not increase the burden on the knee joint, and is an ideal exercise for some people.

7. Do what you can and don’t show off: As they age, the physical fitness of the elderly declines. They should do heavy work within their ability in life, which cannot be compared with the work they did when they were young. Remember, “A hero does not brag about his past achievements.”

8. Nutrition, warmth, and calcium supplementation: Due to regional differences and dietary preferences, some nutrients needed by the body are insufficient, unbalanced, and calcium is deficient, which leads to dysplasia of knee cartilage, early degeneration, and rapid degeneration; some people pursue fashion and fashion, wear thin clothes in winter, or even "knee-revealing clothes", which makes the knee joints cold and frozen, slows down local blood circulation, reduces nutrition, and eventually damages the knee joints. Therefore, we must not only be beautiful, but also warm, and we must not have beautiful clothes that "freeze people".

9. Exercise lower limb strength: proceed step by step and do what you can.

①. Quadriceps strength training: Lie flat, straighten your knees, then tighten the muscles on the front of your thighs, allow the quadriceps to statically contract for 5-10 seconds, do 5 times in 1 minute, step by step, until the thigh muscles feel fatigued.

②. The method of straight leg lifting: Lie flat, straighten your lower limbs, lift them about 60 degrees, hold for 10 seconds and then put your legs down, rest for a while and then repeat the exercise, do 10-50 times in the morning and evening.

③. Half-squat exercise against the wall: lean your back against the wall, bend your hip and knee joints to 90 degrees, hold the half-squat for 10-30 seconds, rest for a while and then squat again. Do 10-30 times a day.

10. Acupuncture, medicine, treatment: For patients with knee pain, go to a regular hospital for acupuncture, physical therapy, massage, and medicine treatment. If necessary, knee joint "sealing" and radiofrequency treatment can be performed. If the symptoms are severe, different knee joint surgeries can be performed according to the symptoms. In short, we must establish the concept of "loving the knee", adhere to the behavior of "protecting the knee", advocate healthy living, improve health literacy, and spend a happy old age.

References:

1. Lu Zhenhe, Fu Zhijian, Chen Jinsheng. Radiofrequency analgesia therapy[M]. 2nd edition. Zhengzhou: Henan Science and Technology Press, 2019: 259-260.

2. Sima Lei. Stay away from neck, shoulder, waist and leg pain. Experts come to help [M]. Beijing: People's Medical Publishing House, 2019: 46-49; 114-121; 190-193; 194-198.

3. Shi Keren. Cervical and lumbar joint pain and injection therapy[M]. 7th edition. Zhengzhou: Henan Science and Technology Press, 2018: 604-942.

Guo Zheng, Wang Guonian. Pain diagnosis and treatment. [M]. Beijing: People's Medical Publishing House, 2000: 110-112; 161-164; 194-198.

About the Author:

Liu Xinfeng, a member of the Communist Party of China, deputy chief physician, the Second People's Hospital of Pingdingshan City, Henan Province, a member of the Henan Provincial Medical Association, a member of the Pain Physician Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, a practicing pharmacist, has been engaged in anesthesia and pain clinical work for more than 20 years, and is proficient in the diagnosis and treatment of common and frequently occurring diseases in the pain department. He is good at the application of cervical techniques such as drugs, temperature-controlled silver needles, ozone (O₃), nerve blocks, low-temperature plasma, pulsed radiofrequency, spinal cord electrical stimulation implantation, and intrathecal programmable morphine pump implantation. He has his own unique experience and methods for neuralgia such as herpes zoster neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, hemifacial spasm, and cancer pain. He has studied in the Pain Department of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital and the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University.