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Knee pain is a common condition that affects people of all ages, regardless of their level of physical activity. Find out what your knee pain can be, when to see your doctor, and what to do to help keep your knees healthy for as long as possible.
Construction of the knee joint
The knee joint is the largest joint in the human body and supports almost the entire body weight. This joint is made up of three bones – the femur, tibia, and kneecap, which are held together by flexible “connectors” called tendons and ligaments. Ligaments connect one bone to another, and tendons connect muscles to bones. These connections allow you to bend the knee, straighten the leg and move the leg slightly from right to left or left to right.
The articular surfaces of the bones are covered with hyaline cartilage, which ensures joint stability, reduces the friction of the articular surfaces against each other and absorbs the knee joint. [1] Moreover, the entire knee joint is surrounded by an articular capsule, a bag-like structure that helps stabilize the knee, and the moisturizing fluid it contains has a nutritional function. [2]
Knees, due to their function and their complicated structure, are unfortunately one of the most frequently damaged joints in the entire body. Damage to the muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, or soft tissues surrounding any of these structures can cause pain, which in turn limit your range of motion and hinder daily functioning. [3]
Co powoduje ból kolana? Od czego mogą boleć kolana?
Sometimes pain in the knee joint is not a symptom of joint damage and other pathologies. The elderly and overweight people are most likely to suffer from pain in the knee joint – this problem may affect up to two out of three overweight people. Pain in the knee can also result from low physical activity and a sedentary lifestyle.
Injury, inflammation and systemic diseases are also common causes of knee pain – due to the complexity of this joint, it is susceptible to damage from a variety of sources. In the event of a suspected injury, exacerbation of a chronic disease and the presence of such ailments as warming, bruising, numbness or swelling of the joint – it is worth seeing a doctor as soon as possible to prevent worsening of symptoms and temporary or permanent disability. [4] Knee pain cannot be ignored and hoped it will go away. The causes of pain in the knee joint include:
- Acute injuries
- Torn or ruptured ligaments in the knee
- Inflammation of the tendons – knee pain that occurs with tendinitis of the muscles of the lower limb is most often exacerbated by squatting and kneeling.
- Bone damage
- Cartilage diseases – one of the cartilage diseases that can be manifested by pain in the front area of the knee is chondromalacia of the kneecap. The development of this ailment is predisposed, among others, by posture defects, excessive body weight and patellar dislocations.
- Degenerative diseases – degenerative changes occur as a result of the destruction of articular cartilage and lead to damage to the structure of the joint, impaired its functions and pain. They can occur in young people before 30 years of age, but the vast majority occur after 60 years of age. Characteristic of degenerative changes are audible crackles and palpable friction in the joint. Initially, pain occurs mainly during prolonged standing or walking. [5]
- Metabolic diseases – incl. gout
- Runner’s knee – as the name suggests, this injury mainly affects professional runners, skiers, jumpers and footballers. Pain is mainly located on the front and outer part of the knee, usually when climbing stairs or during physical activity.
- Inflammation in the course of bacterial infections [6]
What to exercise for the knee joint? How to care for the knee joints?
In order to enjoy the health and full fitness of the knee joints as long as possible, the key is to maintain an optimal weight – extra kilos put a lot of strain on the musculoskeletal system, overload the joints and promote injuries. If you are overweight and suffer from chronic knee pain, rest may be the exact opposite of what you need.
Gentle stretching and light exercise, such as walking, cycling, yoga, Pilates, swimming or water aerobics, can help you lose weight as well as strengthen your muscles. What’s more, exercise helps prevent muscle stiffness and atrophy, and helps protect your knees from future injury. Before each physical activity, however, do not forget about proper warm-up and stretching, which will protect against injury – it is worth spending about 10 minutes on it.
You should also remember about a proper diet rich in nutrients and drinking at least two liters of water a day. The cartilage that is part of the knee joints consists of 80%. from water. Drinking the recommended two to three liters of fluid a day helps provide nourishment and reduces the mechanical stress on the cartilage of the knee joint. If you want to take care of the health of your joints, it is also worth reaching for the best Swiss quality collagen supplements recommended by doctors – Flexus Shots or Flexus Booster.
Why is it worth supplementing collagen? Collagen supplements are the easiest way to get collagen into the body, because in food this protein is found primarily in the connective tissues and skins of animals. Collagen is one of the body’s main building proteins. It is the most important component of connective tissue, meaning it is part of cartilage, bones, teeth, tendons, ligaments, skin and muscles. With age (even from the age of 25), the amount of collagen in our body decreases significantly and the body loses the ability to produce it. Collagen increases the integrity of cartilage, a flexible structure that protects your joints, and the decreasing amount of cartilage with age can cause joint pain.
What’s more, there are even studies to suggest that collagen supplementation may help relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis and reduce pain. Collagen supplementation is recommended for anyone who complains of joint pain, bone pain, rheumatism, is at risk of osteoporosis or who regularly engages in physical activity. [7]
Preparations Flex Shots i Flex Booster created for people of all ages, athletes and physically active people. The composition includes collagen, hyaluronic acid and vitamin C – these ingredients support the proper functioning of not only the osteoarticular system, but also the nervous system, skin and blood vessels. Flexus Shots and Flexus Booster also contribute to the regeneration of cartilage, reduce joint discomfort and inhibit inflammatory processes. Flexus Shots it collagen in liquid form, dostępny w postaci wygodnych do spożycia fiolek, bez konieczności rozpuszczania w wodzie. Szczególnie polecany jest osobom aktywnym fizycznie i sportowcom. Jest to idealna alternatywa dla tych, którzy nie mogą już brać tabletek lub na co dzień biorą ich dużą ilość.
Flexus Booster to kolagen w tabletkach, który pomaga w prawidłowej produkcji kolagenu w celu zapewnienia prawidłowego funkcjonowania chrząstki. Dedykowany jest on osobom zmagającym się z chorobą zwyrodnieniową stawów – zapewnia profilaktykę i wzmocnienie mechanizmów ochronnych chrząstki stawowej, zmniejsza uczucie dyskomfortu w stawach i poprawia ich funkcjonowanie. Co więcej, w preparacie Flexus Booster znajdziemy również Osteol — naturalny preparat uzyskany z bioaktywnych peptydów mleka, chroniący chrząstkę stawową.