The Impact of Lifestyle on Your Knee Health

While genetics play a small role in the overall strength of your knee joints, the fact of the matter is that our lifestyle choices have a far greater impact on our joint health, and that’s a good thing.  It means we have more control over the long-term health of our knees. So, what kinds of things should we be doing, and what types of activities should we be avoiding if we’re hoping to have healthy knee joints long into our golden years? In today’s blog, we take a closer look at the impact your lifestyle choices can have on the long-term health of your knees.

Lifestyle Choices for Excellent Knees

You don’t have to completely overhaul your daily routine to improve the health of your knees and keep them functioning long into old age. Here are some lifestyle choices to consider for your own long-term knee health:

• Regular Exercise - Regular exercise is the single best way to improve the health of your knees and to ensure they stay strong as you age. Controlled exercise helps to strengthen the knee joint and the structures that help to support and stabilize the area, which in turn helps to shield the area from injury. Motion also helps to move the fluid in the knee, and hence the nutrients, to the cartilage cells for cartilage maintenance. Start slowly to avoid injury and carve out 30-45 minutes for exercise a couple times a week, and you’ll begin to notice an improvement in knee strength and function.
• Low-Impact Exercise - So while regular exercise is important, it’s also crucial that you consider what type of exercises you’ll pursue. Certain activities can be particularly stressful on your knees, like running or box jumps. Again, these activities are typically preferred to no exercise at all, but if you’re already experiencing some arthritis-related discomfort or have some knee degeneration, you may find that it’s more helpful to pursue some low- or no-impact exercises. Walking, cycling, or swimming can all improve your knee strength without putting excessive strain on the joint during the activity. These low impact exercises are the best place to start. Always consider tweaking your exercise routine if your current program puts a lot of strain on your knees.
• Weight Management - Your knees bear the stress of your body weight more than most joints in the body, so the more you weigh, the more strain your knees will endure. Medical experts suggest that one pound of body weight equates to about four additional pounds of stress on the knee for many activities. That means if you’re 10 pounds overweight, your knees are handling an additional 40 pounds of stress. Small changes in weight can make a big difference. Shedding just a little weight can have a monumental impact on your current and future knee prospects.
• Stop Smoking - If you’re a smoker, know that every cigarette is contributing to a suboptimal environment for your knees. Smoking can inhibit healthy blood flow, and your knees need a consistent flow of oxygenated blood. Kicking your smoking habit will be good for all the joints in your body, including your knees.
• Avoid The Sedentary Life - Apart from seeking out specific exercise, try to make it a point to become more active in other ways. You’re improving the health of your knees when you’re up and moving, so find little ways to be more active each day. If you work in an office and do a lot of sitting at home, muscles and tissues in your knees are more likely to atrophy, leaving them weaker and potentially increasing your risk of a more serious knee injury.

If you’re interested in revamping your lifestyle habits and improving the health of your knees, we recommend taking a page from The Knee & Shoulder Handbook. In it you’ll find more information about developing an optimal environment for your knees to thrive and how to maintain a high level of knee function as you get older. It also explains how to overcome some of the most common knee issues you may encounter on your path to improved knee health. For more information, or for help with a different joint issue, pick up a copy today or reach out to Dr. Reznik for more information.