The knee joint is the second most complicated joint in the body and has to move in many directions. The knee and hip work in tandem allowing you to walk, run, squat and kneel. When either your hip, knee or ankle have problems moving, the other joints can be strained causing pain. Therefore, even if you have pain in your knees, it could be a problem stemming from your hip or ankle.
Most problems in the knee or hip come from either too little activity or too much activity. Either way, the tissues and muscles around the joints become tight, causing limited movement, strain and inflammation. This can occur from sitting a lot, injuries, arthritis, too much activity or disease.
When you lose the normal movements of the hip, knee or ankle joints your muscles have to take on the abnormal strain. This can lead to common aches and pains experienced by millions of people. In addition, it can also lead to inflammatory conditions such as bursitis or tendonitis. Bursitis is an inflammation of one or more fluid filled sacs which are located throughout your body and are designed to reduce friction between tissues. Common areas of bursitis are on the side of the hip and inner knee. Tendonitis is an inflammation of the tendons which connect muscles to bones.
Many people feel that medication will solve their hip, knee or leg pain. While medication can help to decrease inflammation and pain, it cannot address the root cause of the problem. This is because most pain in the hip, thigh, knee or leg comes from loss of flexibility, strength and coordination.
Things you can do:
- Stretch daily for at least 10 minutes
- Strengthen your leg muscles – calves, quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteus muscles
- When sitting during the day, get up every 30 minutes to walk around
- Be active and at the least walk 15-30 minutes a day
- See a physical therapy professional to examine your joint movement, walking and pinpoint the root cause
Whether you a runner, play sports or even if you are not very active, call us today to learn more about how we can return you to a pain free lifestyle!
