How Do I Treat Knee Pain At Home? 4 Easy Treatments You Can Do Today!

November 8, 2021

Knee Pain

Knee Pain

Knee Pain

Knee pain can affect anyone of any age. You could have gotten knee pain from an injury, or have other medical conditions concerning your knees such as arthritis. There are many different types of knee pain. Having minor pain in the knee may be able to be solved with self-care measures or physical therapy. More extensive knee pain may need surgery. Some symptoms of knee pain may be swelling, warmth to the touch, popping noises, pain when bending, or weakness.

How do I Care for My Knees?

Some knee problems can be taken care of at home. Listed below are 4 ways you can care for your knees:

Ice

One simple way to care for minor knee pain is to use Ice packs. When you have a little bit of redness or inflammation an ice pack would be the perfect solution. Place a towel or blanket between your skin and the ice pack to avoid any harm to your skin. Make sure you leave the ice pack on until you feel an achy numb feeling. If you do not keep it on long enough you will not reap the benefits from the ice. It usually takes around 15-20 minutes. Ice is best for acute injuries such as redness, inflammation, or even pain.

Heat

When using a heat pack make sure you use a barrier such as a towel between your skin and the heat pad so you do not burn your skin. The best time to use heat is when you have sore achy muscles. Or if you are going to be moving and active or if you are getting up for the day and you have achy muscles. 10 to 20 minutes will work best. Tend to avoid heat if you have swelling as ice historically does better to reduce swelling.

Knee Elevation

You have to get your knee way above your heart to see good results. Try to get your legs as high as you can so you can get the swelling to drain and heal the knee. 30-40 minutes of aggressive elevation will be very beneficial if you have injury or swelling.

Proper Shoes

Believe it or not, the shoes you wear can have a big impact on all sorts of pain – knee, back, ankle… But when it comes to knees, wearing shoes with a heel can encourage tight calf muscles and put pressure on your knee joint. A tight calf can pull the foot inward to a position called pronation, which causes your feet to collapse and your lower leg to roll in, placing stress on your knees. So choose flat shoes and stretch out those calves.

On the flip side, replace your sneakers and walking shoes frequently – every 500 miles, which could be three months or a year depending on your level of activity. This is a safe way to avoid wearing a shoe with poor cushioning support for your feet and joints.

How do I Strengthen and Prevent Knee Injuries?

Having strong, flexible muscles is the best way to keep your knees healthy and prevent further injury. If you’re having any knee stiffness or pain and can not fully extend or straighten your knee or bend then these exercises would be perfect for you to try. These exercises require a towel or dog leash and some sort of foam roller or pillow.

Click here to watch these exercises to strengthen your knees.

How do I Avoid Knee Pain as I Age?

It’s tempting to rest if you’ve got knee pain, but too much rest can actually make knee pain worse. When you rest all day you’re not using your muscles which causes them to become weak, tight, and to ache even more when you go to move.

My advice would be to find a few exercises that are safe for your knees and stick to them daily. If you’re not sure what motions are safe and how much you can do, speak to a professional. Typically, swimming and cycling are great alternatives to lower the load on your knees while remaining active

Gentle walking on flat surfaces and getting up to walk around the house frequently are safe options to keep your knees moving.

read this blog to learn the 3 most common reasons for knee pain

Physical Therapy

If you’re confused about the advice you’ve been given, and you think you’ve already tried all of your options, here are 5 ways physical therapy is better than continuous medication (or surgery) for helping ease knee pain…

  • 1.) there are no “nasty” lasting side effects.
  • 2.) It wins the “war”. And NOT just the little battles – physical therapy gets to the very root of your knee pain to ease it, not mask it with little victories that in the end simply don’t last.
  • 3.) You’re not reliant on physical therapy for months or years.
  • 4.) It doesn’t lure you into a false sense of “I’m doing okay today…” to then be “taken down” by the pain when you didn’t expect it.
  • 5.) You don’t have to sit in a stuffy doctor’s waiting room or get past the unfriendly receptionist, to get access to it… And you don’t have to call in at 8:30 am every morning trying to get in, only to be put on hold, told that “your call is important” to them but you’re still 27th in line.

Preferred Physical Therapy Glendale, Arizona

In Phoenix, Arizona where Dr. Nick Hunter owns and operates Preferred Physical Therapy, he helps people ages 40 and above stay active and independent, live free from painkillers, and avoid surgery.. even if they have had pain for years. If you gained information from this blog but still have questions make sure to check out our website to see if we would be a perfect fit to help you solve your pain. We help people aged 40 and up in Glendale and Peoria stay active and independent, live free from painkillers and avoid surgery… Even if they have had pain for years. We help many people with knee pain, back, shoulder, arthritis, vertigo, balance, hip, foot and ankle, sports injury, and many more conditions. We are located in the Arrowhead area in Glendale, Arizona. Once you set your first initial visit we go ahead and plan a personalized plan of care to personally help you. Check out how physical therapy can help you resolve your knee pain: https://preferredptaz.com/knee-pain/

 

Nick Hunter, PT, DPT
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