Sedentary waist injury is nothing new in our work circle, and various health exercises have been arranged, but do you know? Sitting for a long time can also hurt the knee, and in severe cases, the muscles around the knee joint may atrophy or even injury pain. What's going on here?
Why does sitting for a long time hurt my knees the most?
1. From the structure of the knee joint
The knee joint is composed of the femur, tibia and patella, the joint where the three bones are butt with each other, covered with a layer of fragile cartilage, when people exercise, they will have friction, squeezing, impact and load on the joint, and cartilage has the effect of reducing friction, dispersing pressure, shock absorption, maintaining cartilage health, in order to effectively protect the knee joint.
2. In terms of nutritional supply
Articular cartilage itself does not have innervation and does not have vascular nutrition, and its nutrients must be obtained from synovial fluid. When the articular cartilage is compressed, the cartilage becomes thinner, the synovial fluid is squeezed out of the cartilage, and when the pressure disappears, the synovial fluid is sucked into the cartilage, which is like a sponge effect, and the nutrition of the cartilage is realized in this squeezing and sucking, thereby alleviating the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis.
How to avoid the effects of sitting on your knees?
01. Reduce sedentary time
At regular intervals, such as every hour, standing up and walking or doing some light exercise can help improve blood circulation and reduce pressure on the muscles around the knee. If you really don't have time to get up, try to straighten your legs and relieve the pressure on your knees.
Whether you are sitting down or standing up, it is important to move slowly, preferably with your hands on the back of the chair or the edge of the table, and sit up slowly.
02. Strengthen muscle strength exercises
Doing the right amount of exercise to strengthen the muscles and ligaments around the knee can help reduce the wear and tear of the knee cartilage and prevent the appearance of knee diseases.
03. Moderate exercise
Aerobic exercises such as cycling, swimming, walking, and running are recommended. If you don't know how to swim, you can do water sports, such as water walking. Climbing mountains, stairs, or squatting or kneeling in weight-bearing postures will put greater pressure on the knee joint, which is not suitable for the elderly, obese people or patients with knee arthritis.
04, less stilts Erlang legs and cross-legged
In the process of doing these two movements, the knee is in a state of great twisting, the force on the inner and outer sides is uneven, and the knee joint is also in a tight state, which may lead to wear and tear of the knee joint. Therefore, try to do these two movements sparingly to avoid injuring the knee joint.
05. Don't sit on a low stool for a long time
When sitting on a low stool, the knee joint is in a state of flexion for a long time, and the greater the degree of knee flexion and the longer the time, the cartilage of the knee joint is more susceptible to wear and tear. And when you get up from a low stool, your knees need to be under a lot of pressure, which can easily cause injury.
The right chair height is when you sit up, your thighs should be parallel to the ground, your knees should be bent about 90°, and your feet should naturally step on the ground, which can not only relieve the pressure on the muscles around your knees and maintain the stability of your knees, but also improve the comfort of your sitting posture.
In addition, how to protect your knees on a daily basis?
01. Choose the right shoes
Try to avoid walking long distances in high heels, which can change the alignment of the lower limbs. Thick-soled and elastic soft-soled shoes should be preferred to reduce the impact force on the knee joint and avoid impact and wear of the knee cartilage.
02. Wear knee pads when necessary
When the temperature drops, the knee joint is cold and the blood vessels constrict, and the blood circulation becomes worse, which often makes the joint stiff and painful, so when the weather is cold or the temperature in the air-conditioned room is low in summer, you should pay attention to keeping warm, and wear knee pads if necessary to prevent the knee joint from getting cold.
03. Maintain good posture
Pay attention to your body posture when walking, do not twist your waist to work, walk with your legs skimmed, avoid squatting for a long time, and avoid going to the toilet for too long when using a squatting toilet in the bathroom to reduce the pressure on the knee joint cavity.
04. Avoid long-term weight bearing
In daily life, try to pay attention to less going up and down stairs, less climbing, less standing for a long time, less holding children, and less heavy objects, so as to avoid excessive load on the knee joint and aggravate the condition.
05. Control your weight
Maintain a suitable weight, prevent obesity, increase the burden on the knee joint, once the weight is exceeded, be active, pay attention to adjust the diet, and control the weight.
06. Reasonable diet
In terms of diet, you should eat more foods containing protein, calcium, collagen, and isoflavones, which can make bones and joints better metabolize calcium and reduce the symptoms of arthritis.
07. Positive**
Once there is pain in the knee joint, you should see a doctor in time, and you should find ** and be active ** to reduce the pain, restore joint function, and maintain a good quality of life.