5 Exercises You Should Try to Prevent Knee Pain as You Age

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As you age, the pressure you put on our knees and other joints accumulates over your lifetime, which causes pain any time you move. But the the good news is, you can maintain an active lifestyle and avoid this pain.

To keep your joints healthy, focus on maintaining a healthy weight first. As “Each pound of body weight can have an essential impact on the stress you place on your knees as time goes by.”

These are the 5 Exercises You Should Try to Prevent Knee Pain as You Age:

1. Cycling

Cycling or riding a bike is another low-impact exercise, which is good for people with achy knees. Those who take a short trip on flat surfaces, are likely to experience little to no knee pain at all, during their ride.

Cycling is one of the excellent way to build up the muscles around your knee, without damaging the joints. The stronger your leg muscles are, the more impact it absorbs when you participate in activities such as cycling.

2. Doing Leg Lifts

Strengthening your muscles around the joint, which reduces the stress on it and therefore keeping you pain-free, is one of the best way to maintain healthy knees.

You can do these leg lifts on a leg lift machine or at the gym, but you can also do them anywhere without using weights.

How to:
1. Lie on the floor. While keeping your right leg on the floor, raise your left leg a foot or so, off the floor.
2. Lower your left leg. Then repeat 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps. Repeat on the other side.

3. Step-ups

As you age, the ligaments that surrounds your knee joint become stiffer, which means they cannot deal with the stress placed on them, as they once could. Therefore, pain or injury can result. To keep these ligaments more flexible, work the knee joint in a safe way, such as doing step-ups.

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How to:
1. Set up a platform or you can use the stairs or a low bench.
2. Place both feet on the platform.
3. Slowly lower the opposite foot to the floor, while touching your toes to the ground and then return it to the platform.
4. Repeat for at least 10 to 12 times.
5. Switch sides.

4. Swimming

Swimming is one of the best exercises for your joints. It puts little to no pressure on your knees because you move through water.

It also reduces stiffness in your joints and strengthens the bones in your knees and legs. Almost anyone, can exercise for long periods of time in the water minus the feeling of any joint pain, regardless of how intense their knee pain is.

You can also try to attend a water aerobics class or any form of moving or treading through water, as it removes pressure from the joints.

5. Walking

Walking is one of the best exercises for overall wellness and health. Also, it is particularly helpful for aging knees.

Walking is known as an effective cardiovascular exercise, which puts the least amount of stress on your joints, making it a perfect way to stay active, maintain mobility and proper weight, as you get older.

You can start a walking workout, for just a 15 to 30 minute stroll in your neighborhood daily. Staying sedentary will make your stiff knees more stiffer.

Related Articles:
1. 4 Exercises to Strengthen Ankle Joints
2. Science Says This Is the Best Motivation for Working Out
3. Best Exercises for Your Inner Thighs

photo credit: pixabay

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