A patient came into Doylestown Sports Medicine Center last week limping with knee pain and asked:
“I’ve had this knee pain for a few weeks now, I’m not sure what I did to it but I’ve tried taking Tylenol and that didn’t help.
I was trying to rest it so that it wouldn’t hurt, but whenever I stood up and started moving, it hurt again so I had to sit down.
Now I’m wearing a brace to see if that helps, but I can still feel the pain when I take it off.
Is there anything else I can do to get rid of the pain?”
We know how frustrating it can be when you’re not sure what you’ve done to hurt your knee, and even more frustrating when everything you’re trying to do to get rid of the pain – doesn’t do a thing to make it feel any better.
Everyone always thinks and hopes that there will be a “quick fix” to their problem.
And because we see people confused, fed-up and even skeptical about what can be done to help with their knee pain, we wanted to address this idea of “quick fixes” for your knees – or for any joint problem, whether it’s your knees, back, neck, wherever, and tell you why they’re no good.
With that said here’s the 3 most common “Quick Fixes” that people THINK ease their knee pain, but that do the opposite:
“I’ve had this knee pain for a few weeks now, I’m not sure what I did to it but I’ve tried taking Tylenol and that didn’t help.
I was trying to rest it so that it wouldn’t hurt, but whenever I stood up and started moving, it hurt again so I had to sit down.
Now I’m wearing a brace to see if that helps, but I can still feel the pain when I take it off.
Is there anything else I can do to get rid of the pain?”
We know how frustrating it can be when you’re not sure what you’ve done to hurt your knee, and even more frustrating when everything you’re trying to do to get rid of the pain – doesn’t do a thing to make it feel any better.
Everyone always thinks and hopes that there will be a “quick fix” to their problem.
And because we see people confused, fed-up and even skeptical about what can be done to help with their knee pain, we wanted to address this idea of “quick fixes” for your knees – or for any joint problem, whether it’s your knees, back, neck, wherever, and tell you why they’re no good.
With that said here’s the 3 most common “Quick Fixes” that people THINK ease their knee pain, but that do the opposite:
1. Reaching for The Painkillers
When you’re in pain, let’s face it, one of the easiest things to do is reach for the painkillers to “kill” the pain, quick.
But the thing is painkillers won’t get to the root cause of your problem and actually do anything to fix it – they just mask the pain instead, which doesn’t help anyone.
And at the end of the day, that pain will still be there when the painkillers wear off. So, it’s better to do something to fix your pain long-term instead.
When you’re in pain, let’s face it, one of the easiest things to do is reach for the painkillers to “kill” the pain, quick.
But the thing is painkillers won’t get to the root cause of your problem and actually do anything to fix it – they just mask the pain instead, which doesn’t help anyone.
And at the end of the day, that pain will still be there when the painkillers wear off. So, it’s better to do something to fix your pain long-term instead.
2. Resting
When pain strikes, it’s very tempting to do nothing but rest “in case the pain gets worse,” which means many people end up laying on the sofa watching their favorite TV shows…
But when it comes to knee pain, ‘rest’ actually means to not do ‘too much’.
If you rest too much (A.K.A. not move much at all), your joints will become stiff and tight, which can make your knees feel even more achy when you try to move them.
In most cases rest means to decrease the intensity and/or volume of activity to give the knee a chance to heal. To much activity and you just keep beating on it. To little and your not putting in the mechanical stress needed for it to heal properly.
To help your knee, you could go swimming, go for a light walk, yoga or go for a bike ride – basically any low impact exercise will help keep you moving and not place any added pressure on your knees.
And lastly…
When pain strikes, it’s very tempting to do nothing but rest “in case the pain gets worse,” which means many people end up laying on the sofa watching their favorite TV shows…
But when it comes to knee pain, ‘rest’ actually means to not do ‘too much’.
If you rest too much (A.K.A. not move much at all), your joints will become stiff and tight, which can make your knees feel even more achy when you try to move them.
In most cases rest means to decrease the intensity and/or volume of activity to give the knee a chance to heal. To much activity and you just keep beating on it. To little and your not putting in the mechanical stress needed for it to heal properly.
To help your knee, you could go swimming, go for a light walk, yoga or go for a bike ride – basically any low impact exercise will help keep you moving and not place any added pressure on your knees.
And lastly…
3. Wearing A Support
Things like knee supports should ONLY be used as a last-minute resort. And when used, used in moderation. Using a brace to decrease pain especially in the initial stages of injury is helpful, but...
Wearing a support on your knee on a daily basis can create an even bigger problem!
The best way we can explain it is to imagine you have a broken leg or arm and you have a cast put on.
After 6 weeks or so, when the cast is taken off, the muscles underneath are weak – it’s exactly the same as wearing a support every day.
Because it supports your joint, it takes the pressure off your muscles, but doing this everyday will make your muscles lazy which will make them weaker.
Once you take off that support because it’s eased the pain, there’s a very strong chance the pain could come back quicker and worse than before because the muscles are no longer doing their job!
So, there you have it, 3 ‘quick fixes’ that people think ease their knee pain, but do the opposite.
Painkillers, rest, and wearing a support.
When it comes to your joints, these quick fixes are not the way forward to fix your problem long-term
Things like knee supports should ONLY be used as a last-minute resort. And when used, used in moderation. Using a brace to decrease pain especially in the initial stages of injury is helpful, but...
Wearing a support on your knee on a daily basis can create an even bigger problem!
The best way we can explain it is to imagine you have a broken leg or arm and you have a cast put on.
After 6 weeks or so, when the cast is taken off, the muscles underneath are weak – it’s exactly the same as wearing a support every day.
Because it supports your joint, it takes the pressure off your muscles, but doing this everyday will make your muscles lazy which will make them weaker.
Once you take off that support because it’s eased the pain, there’s a very strong chance the pain could come back quicker and worse than before because the muscles are no longer doing their job!
So, there you have it, 3 ‘quick fixes’ that people think ease their knee pain, but do the opposite.
Painkillers, rest, and wearing a support.
When it comes to your joints, these quick fixes are not the way forward to fix your problem long-term
If you want more information to recover from knee trouble, you can book a free knee pain consultation at Doylestown Sports Medicine Center.
However, we only have limited availability, so to make sure you secure your free knee pain consultation in time, give us a call at: (215) 348-0666, and if you know anyone who is suffering at the moment and they could benefit from this, pass our number their way to help put an end to it, quick.
P.S. If you’d like some easy, actionable tips you can use now to start easing your knee pain, click here to download my free knee pain guide: www.dsportsmed.com/knee-pain
Read Our Blog – 5 Ways to Feel Great (And Steer Clear from Colds) This Fall
Read Our Blog – How to Improve Your Posture for a Healthy Back
Read Our Blog – 10 Simple Ways to Lower the Risk of Falls at Home
However, we only have limited availability, so to make sure you secure your free knee pain consultation in time, give us a call at: (215) 348-0666, and if you know anyone who is suffering at the moment and they could benefit from this, pass our number their way to help put an end to it, quick.
P.S. If you’d like some easy, actionable tips you can use now to start easing your knee pain, click here to download my free knee pain guide: www.dsportsmed.com/knee-pain
Read Our Blog – 5 Ways to Feel Great (And Steer Clear from Colds) This Fall
Read Our Blog – How to Improve Your Posture for a Healthy Back
Read Our Blog – 10 Simple Ways to Lower the Risk of Falls at Home