The most common knee-damaging exercise for modern people is actually sitting!

Audit expert: Wang Linyu

Deputy Chief Physician, Department of Orthopedics, Second Affiliated Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Whenever you see the athletic bodies of athletes on TV, do you envy them and wish you could have a strong body like them? But do you know that while athletes are constantly breaking through their physical limitations and achieving better results, their bodies are also suffering from torture that ordinary people can hardly imagine? Many athletes will suffer occupational injuries, and one of the most common injuries is knee joint wear and tear. Some athletes suffer from injuries, and the knee joint wear and injury is particularly severe, and they even have to undergo surgery to maintain normal use.

Knee origin | Baidu Encyclopedia

Athletes use their knees very hard, so their knee joints are easily worn out. But why do many ordinary people not exercise very hard, and their knees are not particularly flexible? Whether you are a sports enthusiast or not, we all need to know about the knees.

1What is the structure of the knee?

Before understanding the wear and tear of the knee joint, let's first look at the "real face" of the knee. The knee is located between the thigh and the calf of the human body. The knee joint here is the largest and most complex joint in the human body. It can connect the thigh and the calf and bear the weight of the human body . The structure of the knee joint is very complex, consisting of the femur, tibia patella, and the meniscus between the tibia and femur, articular cartilage, joint capsule, cruciate ligaments and other structures.

Source | Study on the biomechanical model of knee joint load-bearing, Tang Xiaoying, Sichuan Journal of Physiological Sciences, 2017

Among them, the meniscus is a crescent-shaped fibrous cartilage, divided into two parts, the inner and outer parts, which are mainly used for cushioning and decompression, and at the same time coordinate the smooth movement of the knee joint; the patella is the largest sesamoid bone in the human body, with strong mobility, and can move in four directions: up, down, left, and right; the four ligaments are the anterior cruciate ligament, the posterior cruciate ligament, the lateral collateral ligament, and the medial collateral ligament, which are mainly used to maintain the stability of the knee joint; and the joint capsule can secrete synovial fluid to play a lubricating and cushioning role; the knee cartilage is a transparent avascular tissue wrapped around the surface of the bone, which mainly plays a cushioning role. As a very important part of the human body, the knee also undergoes a series of changes as people continue to grow.

2. What changes will the knees undergo during a person’s lifetime?

During adolescence, especially before the age of 15, the body is in a stage of rapid growth and development. During this process, the human bones and muscles continue to grow, and the knees are also constantly developing and improving.

Knee joint source | pixabay

During this period, many teenagers will experience "growing pains" due to the traction of muscles by bones . "Growing pains" are mainly concentrated near the knees, but this is not a problem with the knees, but physiological pain caused by muscles and ligaments. After adulthood, the growth and development of the human body tends to be slow. At this stage, the development of the knees basically stops and reaches the "complete body" stage. In daily life, whether standing, sitting, walking, running or jumping, it will cause wear and tear on the knees . For example, when standing, the weight of the knees is 1-2 times the body weight; when running, the weight of the knees is 3-4 times the body weight. If bad behavioral habits and wrong postures are added, the wear of the knees will be accelerated, resulting in the tragic situation of the knees "retiring" early. In middle age, many people's knees have reached a certain degree of wear and tear, and they will have problems such as knee pain. As age increases, human functions age, the life of the knees is about to come to an end, and problems such as arthritis will also appear. In general, throughout a person's life, the knee joint is not static, but is constantly worn out. However, some behaviors will aggravate the wear and tear of the knee joints and require extra attention.

Knee pain source | pixabay

3 Common Knee-damaging Exercises & Knee Protection

The most common knee-damaging exercise for modern people, which almost everyone has done, is "sitting for a long time" . Sitting still for a long time will keep the knee joint in a folded state for a long time, which is not conducive to the nutrient delivery of the joint bursa. It will cause the cartilage to not get timely nutrient supplements and increase the loss. There are also common exercises such as running, frog jumping, and mountain climbing, which can also damage the knees . Because when performing these exercises, the knees are under greater pressure, and these exercises require long-term and high-frequency flexion and extension of the knees, which will lead to increased friction between the cartilage of the knee joint, and it is also easy to aggravate wear and consumption. In addition, in addition to these "knee-damaging exercises", excessive obesity will also bring more pressure to the knees and cause more wear and tear. So, in daily life, what ways can we use to protect our knee joints? There are mainly the following aspects:

The first is to control your weight. As we all know, many diseases are related to obesity. If you can reduce your body weight, you can directly reduce the burden on your knee joints, which plays a big role in slowing down the loss of your knee joints.

Source | pixabay

The second is to avoid bad behavioral habits, such as avoiding bad postures and sitting for long periods of time, so as not to put more burden on the knee joints and cause stiffness and wear of the knee joints.

The third is to focus on supplementing calcium and protein. You can consume more foods rich in calcium and protein on a daily basis, such as milk, eggs, soybeans, etc., which will help protect the health of our bones and joints.

Fourth, maintain good exercise habits. For example, daily exercise such as walking and swimming, which are less harmful to the knee joint, can help promote the secretion of more lubricating fluid in the joint cavity, and at the same time exercise the muscle groups near the knee joint, which can better protect the knee joint. At the same time, it is recommended to choose some regular protective gear to protect the knee joint and reduce the load it bears.

Knee protector source | Baidu Encyclopedia

When our knees have symptoms such as popping, discomfort during exercise, and joint stiffness, it means that there is a problem with the knee. It is recommended to go to the hospital for treatment and take appropriate treatment according to the doctor's advice. In general, knee joint damage is "irreversible". Excessive use will cause knee aging . If there is a serious injury or degenerative disease, it will cause joint swelling and deformity. The knee may even be scrapped and can only be replaced through surgery. Therefore, for our healthy life, from now on, change bad living habits and take good care of our knees~