How To Decrease Knee Pain As You Age

It's no secret that many of us do struggle with various knee issues as we get older. The key to living with any issues we have is finding smart and manageable strategies to keep the pain under control so that we can stay active, fit, happy, and healthy. Keep in mind that we aren't alone in the struggle. The Health Engine reports that 18% of men and 23% of women aged 60 years or older report knee pain.

Part of this unfortunate phenomenon is that the knee joining is the largest and most complex joint in the human body, supporting the bulk of our weight during crucial activities. It's no wonder it needs more attention after decades of support.

In our recent post on exercises to decrease knee pain, we found that many of you experience knee issues and might appreciate some additional information and support regarding this crucial part of your body. Let's take a deeper dive into this topic with this well-being guide to help you learn how to fight knee pain to stay active and healthy.

Common Causes of Knee Problems as We Get Older

According to The Mayo Clinic, knee pain is common among people of all ages. In essence, the knee joint acts as a hinge, but it is a complex hinge that allows for multi-directional movement—back-and-forth and side-to-side with micro-movements all around—making it both vital and vulnerable. Harvard Health Publishing recently reported that simply walking across level ground creates a significant impact with force on your knees coming to roughly the equivalent of 1.5 times your body weight.

So, merely using your knees in daily activities does cause stress on them, but there are some additional detrimental factors for knee problems to consider as you get older. 

Osteoarthritis 

Knee osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease, commonly affecting the knee joint and most often in older patients. The most common form of arthritis, it affects millions of people all around the world. What happens is that the protective cartilage that provides cushioning inside the knee joint begins to wear away over time. It happens faster for some patients than others due to factors such as genetics, a lack of fitness for older adults, and carrying excess weight. Although you can't reverse joint damage once it occurs, you can manage the symptoms and slow progression through regular low impact exercise, reaching and maintaining a healthy weight, and committing to knee stretches and other treatments such as prescribed physical therapy. 

Excess Weight and Obesity 

Obesity is clearly a problem for most of your body's joints. However, you don't even need to reach the obesity range for your weight to cause joint pain, already compromised by the reality of everyday gravity, as noted above. Each step we take, no matter what our weight, takes its toll on our knee joints. Imagine the 1.5 times bodyweight force exerted on your knee joints at a healthy weight, then add 20, 30, or 50 pounds, and you might imagine the stress your knees are under. If you start heading into the obese range, your knees will likely suffer and let you know about it with every step. 

Excess body weight and obesity are completely reversible and, by embarking on a weight loss journey, you will enhance and improve most aspects of your health and certainly give your knees some much-needed relief. Losing weight after 50 might seem more challenging. For instance, as women enter menopause, hormones often go off-grid, causing struggles against your own metabolism. Of course, men aren't immune to the negative effects of aging on weight loss. According to The New York Times, "Even those who remain active lose muscle mass and muscle strength every decade beginning in their 30s, research suggests, replacing it with fat." That means we all have to work harder to lose weight and prevent muscle weakness. Fortunately, it is possible with hard work, dedication, and a good plan that includes nutritious food and low impact exercise. 

Additional Causes of Knee Pain

Other issues cause knee pain in older adults, including: 

• An ACL injury

• Previous fractures

• A torn meniscus

• Knee bursitis

• Patellar tendinitis

Many of these issues are the result of an active lifestyle, especially when younger. When you experience a joint-related injury in youth or relative youth, you might experience increased pain as you get older. These cases are somewhat different and might require specific medical and therapeutic attention. You can still ease any associated pain with a similar approach in adopting a healthy diet and regular, gentle exercise.

Preventing Knee Pain

Knowing what most often causes knee pain can help you find ways to prevent it. While osteoarthritis is not necessarily preventable, you can find ways to treat it and reduce the symptoms, but excess weight and lack of activity are in your hands. When you know that there is plenty that you can do to live without pain, or at least minimize the pain you do feel because of knee issues, it makes you feel less helpless.

You definitely don't want to let issues go until it is painful to walk, or worse, you need to undergo injections or surgery to correct the issue, leaving you facing a road to rehabilitation. Even worse, regarding surgery, it is costly, and there are no guarantees that it will solve the issue in the long-term.

The best strategies are often the simplest, even if they take hard work and discipline while enduring some pain.

Here are a few ways you fight knee pain. 

Keep Exercising Even If You Have a Structural Knee Problem 

If you feel pain in your knee each day upon waking up, you might have no desire to get out and exercise. But you should. The chronic pain associated with osteoarthritis, obesity-related knee pain, and other knee issues can create a downward spiral, feeding into the existing pain and discomfort and worsening your condition. What's worse is that you lose basic strength and fitness when you forego your workout altogether. Further, you risk gaining excess weight that puts more strain on your knees. The best strategy is to develop—on your own, with a personal trainer or your physician—a joint friendly exercise regimen, such as walking, swimming, or water aerobics. If the pain is too bad, or you feel too weak, you can try some effective chair exercises. 

You don't need to do high-intensity exercises to get results, especially if you suffer from knee problems. Find joint-friendly, low impact exercises that keep your heart healthy while you strengthen your muscles to support your joints. 

Knee Stretches Help, Whether You're Active or Not 

If your knees are in bad shape, and the pain is too much to do a low impact exercise routine, knee stretches help. Here are a few stretching exercises you might try to help support your knees: 

• Heel and calf stretch

• Quadriceps stretch

• Hamstring stretch

Even if you do not fully eliminate knee pain, you can improve your overall range of motion and flexibility while reducing future injury risk.

Losing Weight After 50 Can Reduce Knee Pain and Increase Knee Health 

Many of us can stand to go on our own weight loss journey to enjoy better overall health, but weight loss after 50, or at any age, will do our hardworking knees a huge favor by:

• Reducing the force on our knees during each step

• Reducing joint inflammation and swelling that exacerbate conditions like arthritis

• Reducing the risk of weight-related diseases, like diabetes and its link to metabolic syndrome, that lead can lead to increased knee pain

Along with exercise, tweak your diet to eat knee-health-friendly foods, such as: 

• Omega-3 fatty acids in foods like oily fish, including salmon and mackerel

• Antioxidant foods like berries to support your immune system

• Healthy fats like those found in avocados

• Foods high in hydration like watermelon

A healthy diet is a large part of overall good health, reduced inflammation, and weight loss and maintenance. 

Enjoy Healthy Knees Now and as You Get Older with the right Strategy and Strong Support 

You can take control and decrease knee pain with these ideas, determination and dedication, and a strong support system like you will find when you download the Mighty Health mobile application. Our health coaches and community are here to offer support, guidance, and feedback to help you improve and maintain healthy knees now and for years to come.