Help for Knee Pain

Your knee is the largest joint in your body. It connects your thigh bone to your shin bone, and contains key ligaments that help you balance, stand, walk and bend.

In fact, we rely on our knees for almost all of the movements that involve our lower body. So perhaps it’s no surprise that nearly half of adults report some degree of pain in this joint we use constantly.

When you feel knee pain it’s important to see a doctor to get the right diagnosis. Many problems can cause knee pain, from sprains and ligament strains to tendinitis. The most common cause is osteoarthritis, the breakdown of cartilage in the knee joint that can occur as we get older.

“Sprains and tears tend to cause sharp pain and swelling,” says Harinder Dhanota, D.O., a Sutter orthopedist in Yuba City. Anti-inflammatory medicine and icing for 10 days, followed by another 10 days of alternating ice and heat packs, can often help.

Arthritis in the knee tends to cause dull achy pain that can last and worsen with time. But there are steps you can take to manage knee pain at home and effective treatments when you can no longer ease knee pain on your own.

1. Choose the Right Exercises

“If doing squats or climbing stairs aggravates your knee, avoid those activities to the extent you can for a while,” says Dr. Dhanota.

Instead, focus on gentle range of motion and low impact exercise. Try yoga, Pilates, swimming, aqua aerobics, cycling or long walks. Avoid high impact exercises like running, basketball and tennis; they put stress on your knee joint.

2. Take Off a Few Pounds

Research shows that losing one pound of weight removes four pounds of pressure from your knees. Losing 10 pounds would remove 40 pounds of pressure from your knees.

We all know it’s hard to lose weight. To start, talk to your doctor about a healthy eating plan. Once you are eating healthy, balanced foods, a few pounds usually drop off naturally.

3. Get a Referral for Physical Therapy

“Physical therapy can be helpful for weakness and deconditioning,” says Dr. Dhanota. A physical therapist can show you how to strengthen the precise muscles that support your knee, and how to stretch safely.

4. Reduce Inflammation

Try taking ibuprofen or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIDs). They’re available over the counter at any drugstore and come in pills or in creams that you rub on your joint. Be sure to discuss whatever you take with your doctor. Remember, NSAIDs can be tough on your stomach so be sure to eat before you take anti-inflammatory pills. Alternating hot and cold packs on your sore knee can also help ease inflammation.

5. Discuss Medical Treatments With Your Doctor

When home care no longer helps, talk to your doctor about medical treatments. “When your day-to-day decisions are affected by knee pain — you decide not to go for a walk, or you can’t play with the grandkids­ — it’s time to seek out medical care,” says Dr. Dhanota.

Corticosteroid injections in the knee may ease pain for some people for several months or longer. And knee replacement surgery is both common and successful.

About 7 million Americans are living with a knee or hip replacement. Depending on the study, 80-100% of people say they’re happy with the results.

Learn more about joint pain.