If knee pain just doesn't want to disappear, it might be because of these 4 Mistakes !
Mistake #1: Painkiller meds:
Pain medication can temporarily remove or reduce your knee pain, however long term they can cause more trouble than they are worth.
Why you might think?
Often knee pain is caused by overused muscles and fascia in the quads and calfs rather than a trapped nerve or an injury inside the knee itself. The pain you experience is a sign of your body that there is a lot of pressure on your joints, which over time could possibly end in osteo-arthritis or meniscus damage. If you are trying to eliminate this pain signal through chemical processes (i.e. pain medication), you could end up with exactly these problems.
Pain is the body's first warning sign to make a change, rather than to "kill the messenger".
Pain medication can temporarily remove or reduce your knee pain, however long term they can cause more trouble than they are worth.
Why you might think?
Often knee pain is caused by overused muscles and fascia in the quads and calfs rather than a trapped nerve or an injury inside the knee itself. The pain you experience is a sign of your body that there is a lot of pressure on your joints, which over time could possibly end in osteo-arthritis or meniscus damage. If you are trying to eliminate this pain signal through chemical processes (i.e. pain medication), you could end up with exactly these problems.
Pain is the body's first warning sign to make a change, rather than to "kill the messenger".
Mistake #2: Too much rest:
If every step hurts and you can't get out of bed due to pain, you might feel like putting your legs up and resting them. But this is a problem, since most knee pain is due to not enough activity. If you are not using and stretching the muscles it can make the problem worse. If you already have trigger points and hard, glued muscles and fascia in the quads and calfs, rest can be counter productive and the pain can even get much worse
If every step hurts and you can't get out of bed due to pain, you might feel like putting your legs up and resting them. But this is a problem, since most knee pain is due to not enough activity. If you are not using and stretching the muscles it can make the problem worse. If you already have trigger points and hard, glued muscles and fascia in the quads and calfs, rest can be counter productive and the pain can even get much worse
Mistake #3: Overdoing it in the gym:
"Knee pain is due to weak muscles"- have you heard this before? Especially the Physiotherapists and Personal Trainers quite often say that. But we also see that some of the gym machines can 'torture' your knees even, especially if you don't use them right or use too much weight.
As an example- the knee extension exercise where you sit and lift your legs up until your knees are fully extended against the weight. During the knee extension or in the extended position of the leg, the biggest force is pushed onto the knees- and therefore the menisci and cartilage are being overused.
Fun Fact: Even when you stand, the force that is being transferred onto your knees is about 3x your body weight!
"Knee pain is due to weak muscles"- have you heard this before? Especially the Physiotherapists and Personal Trainers quite often say that. But we also see that some of the gym machines can 'torture' your knees even, especially if you don't use them right or use too much weight.
As an example- the knee extension exercise where you sit and lift your legs up until your knees are fully extended against the weight. During the knee extension or in the extended position of the leg, the biggest force is pushed onto the knees- and therefore the menisci and cartilage are being overused.
Fun Fact: Even when you stand, the force that is being transferred onto your knees is about 3x your body weight!
Mistake #4: Support Braces/Bandages:
You want to do the best and want to support your body with knee strapping, brace or bandages? However, in many cases the outside help for the body or body part will weaken the muscles even more. It's a bit like the "use it or lose it" principle.
You want to do the best and want to support your body with knee strapping, brace or bandages? However, in many cases the outside help for the body or body part will weaken the muscles even more. It's a bit like the "use it or lose it" principle.