Treating Knee Osteoarthritis Early
Hello Everyone! If you are experiencing the early stages of knee osteoarthritis (OA) or have been told to lose weight to qualify for surgery, this post is for you.
Knee osteoarthritis can come with age, excess weight, repetitive movements, and injury. It also accompanies many non-communicable diseases, and the rate of progression differs for everyone. Chronic inflammation is the culprit of so many conditions!
If you catch it early enough, you may be able to stop the progression of knee joint issues (as well as treat your noncommunicable disease). Doctors often recommend lifestyle modifications for the nonsurgical treatment of knee osteoarthritis. Of course, prevention is key.
Here are some ways that may help you prevent knee osteoarthritis, reduce inflammation around your knee joints, and reduce knee pain risk. Protecting your joints as you age and aging beautifully and with ease is possible!
What Causes Knee Osteoarthritis?
What Foods Are Best for Osteoarthritis?
Can You Improve Osteoarthritis?
How Can You Stop Knee Joint Pain Getting Worse?
What Exercise Is Best for Knee Joint Pain?
Do Fascia Stretches Help Knee Pain?
Is It Okay to Keep Taking Painkillers?
What Causes Knee Osteoarthritis?
According to The Lancet, their study from 2020 recorded 654 million people over 40 with knee osteoarthritis worldwide.
With the rise in obesity, these figures are set to be exponential.
CRP is elevated in knee osteoarthritis compared to healthy individuals and is correlated with rheumatic disease signs and symptoms, including HAQ (health assessment questionnaire) disability, joint count, and pain. Wolfe (1997).
CRP is C-Reactive Protein.
The liver makes this, and we have low levels in the blood.
When inflammation runs high, your liver releases more CRP into the bloodstream.
High inflammation running in the body is harmful because this is when chronic inflammatory diseases can develop.
The immune system is dysregulated, too.
Inflammatory cytokines are associated with osteoarthritis. Sohn et al. (2012).
Cytokines (proteins that, when released, tell the immune system to do their job), leptin (a hormone made by fat cells), and mechanical forces are all pathogenic factors of knee osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis is multi-factorial. Aging and wear and tear on cartilage, old injuries that didn’t heal, genetics, obesity, diabetes, repetitive use of joints, muscle weakness, bone density, and lifestyle all come into play.
Of course, your orthopedic doctor will advise you on your joint pain since they will have your x-rays and medical history but below are some suggestions to reduce inflammation, which will aid in healing your knees.
What Foods Are Best for Osteoarthritis?
Embark on eating anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense foods and eliminating pro-inflammatory foods.
Keep your gut from dysbiosis, look after your immune cells, and keep chronic inflammation at bay through good tummy bacteria diversity.
This will aid in continued and sustained weight loss, too. Obesity is a consistent main factor in knee osteoarthritis. Blagojevic et al. (2010). It will assist you if you have been advised to lose weight for surgery, too.
Members, follow the food lists and educate yourself by checking out the personalized advice section for personalizing your EBS health plan. You may have a condition that affects your joints, like gout, for instance, or have accompanying depression or migraines. Follow the Osteoarthritis personalized advice here.
The personalized advice will help you keep triggers at bay, for instance. It will advise what foods to enjoy and avoid and supplements and techniques to help your inflammatory condition.
Joints become inflamed with chronic inflammatory conditions and incomplete nutrition. For instance, Synovial Fluid (joint fluid) relies on certain foods, such as antioxidants and EFAs.
Vitamin D is vital for musculoskeletal health, etc. Check out: Benefits of Sun Exposure.
If you haven’t already, get into taking anti-inflammatory turmeric shots.
Members, check out the Masterclass Series. You will learn so much!
Can You Improve Osteoarthritis?
Depending on the cause of your osteoarthritis, you can improve knee osteoarthritis.
Ensure that you live an inflammation-reducing lifestyle. This means minimizing inflammation with what you eat, drink, breathe in, and how you move and deal with stress.
It is about good sleep quality and what you think, too. Digestion and exercise reduce inflammation when sleep is good, and good sleep occurs when digestion and exercise work and inflammation are down. When you get the balance right, it all works synergistically together.
Good nutrition and absorption are necessary for health.
An anti-inflammatory lifestyle can’t change an old injury, say, or any bone deformities. Still, it can reduce inflammation around the bones and aid if it is a condition like obesity or Type 2 diabetes.
An anti-inflammatory diet can ‘switch off’ genetics in terms of expression. You can’t change your genetics, but you can support your body with less genetic expression.
How Can You Stop Knee Joint Pain Getting Worse?
Manage your weight by reducing chronic inflammation. Excess weight can have a detrimental effect on joints. Plus, fat cells make proteins that cause inflammation around your joints.
Obesity was a consistent main factor of OE in a study cited above, as is Leptin, an adipose-tissue-derived hormone.
People with obesity have unusually high levels of leptin.
Significant levels of leptin were found in the synovial fluids (a thick, lubricating liquid in joint cavities) of OA joints, which correlated with Body Mass Index. Dumond et al. (2003).
Weight-bearing joints such as knees have to support some of your body weight. That is why so many people with weight issues can struggle with walking. Which does not help reduce the inflammation and can contribute to significant stress on the knees and joint pain.
Members follow personalized Weight Loss advice, and this one: Reduce Bloat and Deal with Digestion Issues.
Anti-inflammatory food, lifestyle, and exercises reduce weight and keep it off effortlessly.
What Exercise Is Best for Knee Joint Pain?
Maintain your joints by moving them. Our joints are designed to take load and move, and the cartilage needs load to maintain itself.
Ensure you don’t cause damage by doing exercises that aggravate joints and induce inflammation. Repetitive movements like squats are common risk factors for knee osteoarthritis.
Ensure that you activate your lubricating fluid by easing into your movement routines. Joints also don’t like inactivity. Remember to move regularly.
If you have just joined the platform, go for the Beginner’s movements and the Fascia Stretching, Mobility, Leg, and Vagus Nerve routines. There are also many movements for the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back muscles and for hip pain release. Strengthening different muscles will take the pressure off the joints but go at your own pace.
Members, check out the Pink, Grey, and White Series for different pose guidance to support your anti-inflammatory routine. There are over 160 movements on Eat Burn Sleep, and many will work on the inner-range quadriceps, for instance. This will help develop the neuromuscular function of the knees, which aids in reintroducing good functional movements.
All the exercises support your posture, protecting your joints and knees. The exercises teach you to listen to your body and connect with your mind and muscle. You can save what suits you in Favorites.
Navigating the movements section should be easy but do reach out to the team with any questions. You may be interested in reading: 10 Reasons to Walk.
Members, access your Walking Guide here.
Do Fascia Stretches Help Knee Pain?
Yes, fascia stretching aids in reducing inflammation, increasing lymph, blood flow, and mobility, and encouraging body flexibility. As mentioned above, there are plenty of exercises on the platform that will help you stretch out your fascia. Check out the article: Why Is Stretching Your Fascia So Important?
Is It Okay to Keep Taking Painkillers?
Don’t overdo the painkillers. Non-steroid inflammatory drugs are often recommended as first-line therapy, but long-term use is limited.
Be aware that painkillers can cause gut dysbiosis (imbalance of gut flora), which upsets the immune system and invokes chronic inflammation. You may want to read: Rheumatoid Arthritis Diet & Lifestyle.
Non-steroidal inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) increase inflammation and can cause damage to the cartilage. They can have other side effects, too. This means you create a vicious cycle of pain, brief interludes of ease, but more pain and inflammation ensue.
Of course, I always advise you to run this anti-inflammatory lifestyle by your doctors. It may just be that they are already prescribing it. It is Bupa-Global-approved, after all.
I hope that you have a happy and healthy day!
