Osteoarthritis Exercises for Knee Pain
As we age, our bodies don’t work as well as they used to. We’re finding it hard to accept that our backs are achy and our knees are sore. What’s going on here and how can it stop?
Unfortunately, aging is unstoppable and it happens to us all. But there are things we can do to make things better and to ease our discomfort when our bodies start to deteriorate.
Knee osteoarthritis is a common form of osteoarthritis and can affect our lives in a big way. Here, we’ll explain what knee osteoarthritis is, what it’s caused by, how it presents itself, and how to manage osteoarthritis in the knee.
To explain knee osteoarthritis, we’ll need to separate what the knee is and what osteoarthritis is.
The knee is the largest and strongest joint in your body. It is composed of the lower end of the femur (thighbone), the upper end of the tibia (shinbone), and the patella (kneecap). Where the ends of the three bones touch are covered with articular cartilage which is a smooth, slippery substance that protects and cushions the bones as you bend and straighten your knee.
The meniscus, two wedge-shaped pieces of cartilage, act as "shock absorbers" between your femur and tibia. They are tough and rubbery to help cushion the joint and keep it stable.
Surrounding the knee joint is a thin lining called the synovial membrane. This membrane releases a fluid that lubricates the cartilage and reduces friction making movement more comfortable.
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis in the knee. it is a degenerative “wear-and-tear” type of arthritis. It occurs most often in people over 50 years old but may occur in younger people too.
With knee osteoarthritis, over time, the cartilage in the knee joint wears away. As the cartilage deteriorates, it becomes frayed and rough, and the protective space between the bones lessens. This can result in bone rubbing on bone and can produce painful bone spurs.
Osteoarthritis develops slowly and the pain it causes worsens over time.
1 in 5 Australians aged over 45 have osteoarthritis
What Causes Knee Osteoarthritis?
There are a variety of causes of osteoarthritis of the knee including:
- Age: The ability of cartilage to heal decreases as a person gets older.
- Weight: Excess weight increases pressure on the joints, in particular, the knees.
- Genetics
- Gender: Women aged 55+ are more likely than men to get knee osteoarthritis
- Repetitive stress injuries: May depend on your occupation
- Athletics: Serious knee injuries in sports
- Other illnesses such as metabolic disorders.
According to Osteoarthritis snapshot from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report in July 2018, they reported 36 rise in the rate of total knee replacements for osteoarthritis from 2005-06 to 2015-16
Reference : Source: AIHW analysis of ABS Microdata: National Health Survey (NHS) 2014–15. ABS cat. no. 4324.0.55.001. Canberra: ABS. (Data table).
What Are the Symptoms of Knee Osteoarthritis?
Symptoms of knee osteoarthritis may vary from person to person based on severity. Common osteoarthritis knee symptoms include:
- Knee joint becomes stiff, swollen, and tender, making it difficult to bend and straighten the knee
- Pain and swelling may be worse in the morning, or after sitting or resting
- Vigorous activity may cause osteoarthritis symptoms, knee pain, and other discomforts
- The knee may “lock”, “catch”, or “buckle” during movement
- The knee joint may creak, click, snap or make grinding noise (crepitus)
- Pain may gradually increase
- Poor range of motion
Osteoarthritis Knee Treatment & Management
Osteoarthritis knee treatment can come in two different forms, either through medication or physiotherapy, or both.
For pain relief and inflammatory control, treatments include:
- Anti-inflammatory medications
- Hot and cold treatments
- Knee injections for knee pain (corticosteroid injections)
To reduce the force on your knees that could cause flare-ups to your knee osteoarthritis, treatments include:
- Osteoarthritis knee exercises to strengthen and stabilize the hips, knees, and ankles
- Physiotherapy exercises to stabilize the lumbar-pelvic region
- Modifications to sports and daily activities, such as walking up and down stairs or hills
- Lifestyle and home remedies such as maintaining a healthy weight, keeping active, and taking healthy supplements
- Weight loss can help significantly decrease pain, prevent further joint damage and increase mobility with the knee
- A knee brace for osteoarthritis relief while moving around
The American College of Rheumatology guidelines strongly recommend people with OA to participate in cardiovascular (aerobic) and/or resistance land-based and aquatic exercises.
Osteoarthritis knee exercises you can do at home
- Exercises to stabilize and strength the hip, knee and ankle to reduce the force through your knees
- Exercises to strengthen and stabilize the lumbar-pelvic region, which again will reduce the force through the knees
Worse case scenario. Surgery
“Osteoarthritis is also the most common condition leading to hip and knee replacement surgery in Australia. Clinical guidelines in Australia recommend joint replacement surgery as a cost effective intervention for people with severe osteoarthritis who are unresponsive to medication and exercise. These procedures restore joint function, help relieve pain and improve quality of life of the affected person.”
Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database (Data table).
As always, Physio Inq is here to help. We use our knees for so many things and knee osteoarthritis can put a lot of extra stress on our lives, not just on our joints. It’s important to work with a certified physiotherapist to help you through these issues and make sure you’re not suffering from knee pain more than you have too OR give yourself every opportunity to avoid going under the knife with surgery.
Give us a call today to book an appointment or we’ll come to you with our mobile and clinic services across Australia. We’re committed to helping you lead a more comfortable and active life, so reach out – we’re happy to help!
Take advantage of some of our Mobile Physiotherapy Services across Australia today. If you can’t get to a clinic, why not get a Physiotherapist to you? Check out our locations of where our mobile physio’s are treating.
Mobile Physiotherapy Sydney
Mobile Physiotherapy Western Sydney
Mobile Physiotherapy Northern Beaches
Mobile Physiotherapy Melbourne
Mobile Physiotherapy Adelaide
Mobile Physiotherapy Canberra
If you prefer the in-clinic experience, you can find your local Physio Inq clinic HERE.
This article was originally written by Bill Kagaras from Physio Inq Engadine
Share the article
Recent Posts
- Goal-Setting Tips For Fitness Success
- Can Caffeine Make You Tired All The Time? 5 Hidden Truths
- Here is Why You Should to Speed Up Your Metabolism
- 9 Tips To Promote Better Mental Health
- All You Need To Know About The Role Of An Exercise Physiologist
- What Can I Do to Help My Shin Splints?
- The Dreaded Golf Trigger Finger Injury - Put a Stop to It Now
- Long Distance Running Training For Beginners
- What Are the Warning Signs You Could Have Heat Stroke?
- Functional Resistance Training | Myofascial Sling Systems
Month
Tags
- Abdominal muscles (1)
- Abdominal pain (1)
- Abdominal separation (1)
- Abdominal separation exercises (1)
- Abdominal separation pain (1)
- Abdominal separation pregnancy (1)
- Abdominal separation symptoms (1)
- Abdominal separation test (1)
- Achilles Tendonitis (1)
- ACL (1)
- ACL injury (2)
- Acupuncture (1)
- Acute injury (1)
- Adaptive Equipment (1)
- AFL (2)
- Aged Care (2)
- Allograft (1)
- Alzheimers (1)
- Ankle (5)
- Ankle Rehabilitation (1)
- Ankle Sprain (3)
- Ankle Sprains (1)
- Ankle Strapping (1)
- Anterior Cruciate Ligament (1)
- Arthritis (1)
- Asthma (1)
- Autism (1)
- Back (6)
- Back Pain (7)
- Ballet (1)
- Baseball (1)
- Basketball (1)
- Basketball injuries (1)
- Basketball injuries list (1)
- Basketball injury (1)
- Basketball injury prevention (1)
- Basketball knee (1)
- Basketball shoes (1)
- Bike fit (2)
- Bike fit physio (1)
- Bike fit Sydney (1)
- Bike fitting (1)
- bike seat height (1)
- Bike seat height adjustment (1)
- Bike seat height calculator (1)
- Blisters (1)
- Bone Density (1)
- Bone Health (1)
- Bursitis (1)
- Calf Muscle (1)
- Cardio Training (1)
- Carpal Tunnel (1)
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (1)
- Casting (1)
- Cerebral Palsy (1)
- Cheer (1)
- Cheerleader (1)
- Cheerleading (1)
- Cheerleading in Australia (1)
- Cheerleading in Sydney (1)
- Cheerleading injuries (1)
- Cheerleading injury (1)
- Cheerleading Sydney (1)
- Children Injuries (1)
- Children Sport (2)
- Children Sports Injuries (1)
- chin ups (1)
- Cholesterol (1)
- Christmas (1)
- Chronic (1)
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (1)
- City2Surf (1)
- Coffee (2)
- Cold (1)
- Common basketball injuries (1)
- Concussion (1)
- Concussions (1)
- Controlled Articular Rotations (1)
- Core (1)
- corked thigh (1)
- Corticosteroid Injections (1)
- cortisone injection (1)
- COVID 19 (1)
- Cramps (1)
- Cricket (1)
- Cross Training (1)
- Crossfit (2)
- Crossfit Injuries (1)
- Cycling (5)
- Cycling physio (1)
- Cycling physio near me (1)
- Cycling physio Sydney (1)
- Cycling posture (1)
- Cycling seat height (1)
- Cycling seat position (1)
- Cycling seat too high (1)
- Cycling tips (1)
- Dementia (3)
- Diastasis recti (1)
- DOMS (1)
- Down Syndrome (1)
- Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (1)
- dynamic stretching (2)
- Ear Barotrauma (1)
- Ear Pain (1)
- Early Intervention (1)
- Easter (1)
- ECU tendon (1)
- Elbow (1)
- Epilepsy (1)
- Ergonomics (5)
- Exercise (9)
- exercise at home (1)
- Exercise during pregnancy (1)
- Exercise during pregnancy benefits (1)
- Exercise during pregnancy guidelines (1)
- Exercise Injuries (1)
- Exercise Physiology (2)
- Exercise right (1)
- Exercise right for doctors (1)
- Exercise right week (1)
- Exercisephysiology (2)
- Exercising with osteoporosis (1)
- Exos Cast (1)
- Falls Prevention (1)
- feet health (1)
- Fibromyalgia (2)
- FIFA 11 (1)
- FIFA 11 ACL injury prevention (1)
- FIFA 11 injury prevention (1)
- FIFA 11 injury prevention poster (1)
- FIFA 11 injury prevention program (1)
- FIFA 11 injury prevention programme (1)
- FIFA 11 plus (1)
- FIFA 11 warm up (1)
- FIFA 11+ (1)
- FIFA 11+ injury prevention (1)
- FIFA 11+ injury prevention poster (1)
- FIFA 11+ injury prevention program (1)
- FIFA 11+ injury prevention programme (1)
- FIFA 11+ kids (1)
- FIFA 11+ manual (1)
- FIFA 11+ poster (1)
- FIFA 11+ program (1)
- FIFA 11+ warm up (1)
- Fine Motor Skills (1)
- Fitness (3)
- Fitness Apps (1)
- Flexibility (1)
- Foam Rolling (1)
- Football injury prevention (1)
- Footware (1)
- Forehand grip (1)
- Forehand technique (1)
- Forehand tennis (1)
- Fracture (2)
- Free Weights (1)
- Functional fitness exercises (1)
- Functional fitness training (1)
- Functional training (1)
- Gamer’s Thumb (1)
- Golf (2)
- Gym (1)
- Half Marathon (1)
- Hamstring (3)
- hamstring injuries (2)
- Hamstring strain (1)
- Hamstring Strains (1)
- Hamstring Tendon Graft (1)
- Hamstrings (3)
- hand therapy (1)
- Head Injuries (1)
- Health (10)
- Health Tips (2)
- Healthy Conversations (1)
- Heat (1)
- Heat Exhaustion (1)
- Heat Stroke (1)
- heel pain (1)
- Hip Flexors (1)
- Hip pain cycling (1)
- Hip Resurfacing (1)
- How do you fit a bike? (1)
- How to manage acute injury (1)
- Hydration (1)
- In Home Assessment (1)
- Injury care (1)
- Injury management (1)
- Injury Prevention (2)
- Injury recovery (1)
- intermuscular contusion (1)
- intramuscular contusion (1)
- Is it worth getting a bike fit? (1)
- ITB friction syndrome (1)
- ITB muscle (1)
- ITB pain (1)
- ITB syndrome (1)
- Jammed finger (1)
- Javelin (1)
- Jet Lag (1)
- Joint Health (1)
- Joints (1)
- Kinetic link principle (1)
- Kinetic link principle example (1)
- Kinetic link training (1)
- Knee (3)
- Knee injury (1)
- Knee Osteoarthritis (1)
- Knee Pain (9)
- Knee pain cycling (1)
- Knee problems (1)
- Knee program (1)
- Knee protection (1)
- Lateral Ankle Sprain (1)
- Lateral Knee Pain (1)
- Machine Weights (1)
- Mallet finger (1)
- Massage (3)
- MCL pain (1)
- Medicare (1)
- Mental Health (3)
- Mental Health Guide (1)
- Metabolism (1)
- Motor Neurone Disease (1)
- Muscle Twtiching (1)
- Musculoskeletal (1)
- Myofascial lines and functional training (1)
- Myofascial lines of the body (1)
- Myofascial release training (1)
- Myofascial sling exercises (1)
- NDIS (9)
- NDIS Funding (1)
- NDIS Plan Management (1)
- NDIS Service Agreement (2)
- NDIS Support Coordination (1)
- NDSP (2)
- Neck (2)
- Neck Pain (2)
- Neck pain headache (1)
- Netball (1)
- Netball Australia (1)
- Netball injuries (2)
- Netball NSW (1)
- Netball physical training (1)
- Netball physio (1)
- Netball physiology (1)
- Netball physiotherapist (1)
- Nutrition (13)
- Occupational Therapy (11)
- Osgood-Schlatter (1)
- Osteoarthritis (3)
- Osteopenia (1)
- Osteoporosis (3)
- Osteoporosis treatment (1)
- Pain in the back of your head (1)
- Pain in the neck and back (1)
- Pain in the neck and shoulders (1)
- Pars Defect (1)
- Patellar tendonitis (1)
- Patellar Tracking Disorder (1)
- Peace and love injury (1)
- Peace protocol (1)
- Pelvic Floor (1)
- Pelvic Pain (1)
- Physical Activity (1)
- Physio bike fit (1)
- Physio bike fit Sydney (1)
- Physio pregnancy (1)
- Physiotherapy (6)
- Pilates (7)
- Pillows (1)
- podiatrist (1)
- Posture (1)
- Pregnancy (5)
- Pregnancy and exercise (1)
- Pregnancy and exercise guidelines (1)
- Pregnancy exercise (1)
- Pregnancy physio (1)
- Prehab (1)
- Pre-Season Screening (1)
- Professional bike fitting (1)
- pull ups (1)
- Quadriplegia (1)
- Quervain’s Disease (1)
- Quervain’s Tenosynovitis (1)
- R U OK?DAY (1)
- Relaxation Massage (1)
- Remedial Massage (1)
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (2)
- Rice injury (1)
- Rice injury management (1)
- Rolled ankle (1)
- Rotator Cuff (3)
- Rugby (1)
- Rugby Injury Prevention (1)
- Rugby League (2)
- Runners (3)
- Runners knee (2)
- Running (17)
- Running knee (1)
- Running knee pain (1)
- Saddle height calculator (1)
- Saddle height cycling (1)
- Saddle height inseam (1)
- Saddle seat (1)
- Scheuermann’s Disease (1)
- School Bag (2)
- School Bags (1)
- School Tips (1)
- Scoliosis (1)
- Seat post adjustment (1)
- Seatpost adjust angle (1)
- Servers Disease (1)
- Shin Splints (2)
- Shoes (2)
- Shoulder (6)
- Shoulder Injuries (2)
- Shoulder Instability (3)
- Shoulder Pain (2)
- Shoulder Rehab (1)
- Shoulder Stability (1)
- Shoulders (1)
- Sinus Pain (1)
- skiing (1)
- skiing injuries (1)
- Sleep (1)
- Sleeping (2)
- Sleeping Postion (1)
- snowboarding (1)
- snowboarding injuries (2)
- Soccer (3)
- Soccer Injuries (1)
- Soccer Injury (1)
- Soccer injury prevention (1)
- Soccer injury prevention program (1)
- Socks (1)
- Soft tissue injury (1)
- Sore neck (1)
- Speech Pathologist (1)
- Speech Pathology (2)
- Speech Therapist (1)
- Speech Therapy (2)
- Spina Bifida (1)
- Spine (1)
- Spondylolysis (1)
- Sports Injuries (6)
- Sports Massage (1)
- Sprain (1)
- Sprinting (1)
- Sprinting Prehab (1)
- static stretching (2)
- stress fractures (1)
- Stress Management (1)
- Stretch Marks (1)
- stretching (3)
- Stroke (1)
- Stroke Rehab (1)
- Supplements (1)
- Surfing (2)
- Swedish Massage (1)
- Swimming (7)
- Tendinosis (1)
- Tendon (1)
- Tendon injuries (1)
- Tendon Pain (1)
- Tendonitis (1)
- Tennis (2)
- Tennis Elbow (2)
- Tennis racquet grip (1)
- Tennis strokes (1)
- Tennis wrist pain (1)
- Tension Neck Syndrome (1)
- Triathlon (2)
- Trigger finger (1)
- Volleyball (1)
- Weight Loss (2)
- Weight Training (4)
- Weights (1)
- Womens Health (4)
- Womens health physio (1)
- Womens health physio sydney (1)
- Womens health physiotherapy (1)
- Womens Physiotherapy (1)
- Womens Sport (1)
- Work Productivity (1)
- Working from home tips (1)
- Workplace (8)
- Wrist Injuries (2)
- Wrist pain (1)
- Yoga (2)