You may use this image in your ezine or website if you choose to publish my article. Click here to see the picture full-sized.--- Kamau Austin

You may first feel it when attempting to bend down to pick a
dropped item or possibly you experience it as morning stiffness
that you feel when you first get up out of bed.   But whenever
it hits you knee pain will undoubtedly get your attention.

The good news about knee pain is that it responds well to self
care measures.


There are a number of factors that can put you at risk for knee
pain.  Some of them are:

Overweight:  If you weigh more than you should, you put more
stress and pressure on your knee joints.  Over time this excess
pressure can cause pain.

Overuse:  An inflammatory response can occur when a repetitive
activity, causes a muscle to get fatigued.  This inflammatory
response can damage surrounding tissue.  This can be further
compounded when you don't give the knee enough time to fully
recover thereby making it prone to re-injury.

Lack of muscle strength:  Experts site lack of strength and
flexibility as the leading cause of knee injury and pain.  Weak
or tight muscles offer less support for the knee joint.

Mechanical problems:  Having misaligned knees, one leg that is
shorter than the other or other structural abnormalities can
contribute to knee pain.

Previous injury:  If you have previously injured your knee
chances go up that you will injure it again.  Possibly because
the knee was not given enough time to properly heal or because
the knee doesn't return to the condition it was in prior to the
injury.

Age:  Some knee related conditions affect young people more
often than old, for example Osgood-Schlatter disease or patellar
tendonitis. Other conditions such as gout and osteoarthritis
tend to occur in older people.

An injury to the knee can affect any of the ligaments, tendons
Or bursa (fluid filled sacs of the knee) or a combination of 
these areas of the knee.


Some of the most common causes of knee pain are:

- Bursitis - An inflammation that comes from pressure on the
knee.  The pressure may be from repeated overuse, kneeling for
long periods of time or other injury.

- Tendonitis - Pain that occurs in the front of the knee.  It
usually gets worse when going up and down stairs.  This is a
common injury of skiers, runners and cyclists.

- Torn ligaments or cartilage - This injury can cause severe pain
and lack of stability of the knee joint.

- Strain or Sprain - A minor injury to the ligaments cause by
sudden or unnatural twisting.

- Hip disorders - May cause you to feel pain in the knee area.

- Osteoarthritis - a condition affecting the joints characterized
by pain and stiffness

- Gout - A metabolic disorder caused by an accumulation of uric
acid in the joints.


As mentioned above knee pain responds well to self care.  Some
of the things that you can do if you experience knee pain are:

- Apply ice 15 minutes at a time, initially and then about 4
times a day thereafter until the pain subsides.

- Rest and avoid the activities that contributed to the initial
injury

- Elevate your knee to bring down the swelling

- Over the counter medications can provide pain relieve from
pain.

- Sleep with a pillow underneath the affected knee

- Gentle compression, such as with an Ace bandage may reduce
swelling and provide support


It is not always possible to prevent knee pain but there are
some things that you can do to lessen the likelihood that knee
problems will occur.

- Keep off excess weight.   Maintaining a healthy weight will
keep your knees from having to support more than they were
designed to support.

- Stay flexible.  Weak muscles make you more prone to injuries
of the knees.  So do stretching exercises, daily to maintain
flexibility

- Exercise wisely.  Don't exercise when you have pain or you're
tired.  If you have chronic injuries consider switching to
sports or exercise that put less stress on your joints.  For
instance swimming instead of basketball.

- Get good fitting shoes.  When shoes fit poorly we may
compensate in the knees and hips, causing them to be misaligned
and making them prone to injury.

- Proper supplements:  There are supplements that can help the
body keep the ligaments and joints lubricated, and actually help
rebuild cartilage.


Like Phosoplex™ is a supplement that is recommended for
osteoarthritis and joint pain.   It is a powerful, all natural
and safe solution for joint lubrication, pain relief and the
rebuilding of healthy cartilage.

If you follow the above suggestions you will go a long way to
knockout knee pain before it begins. 

Kamau Austin and Stephanie McIntyre are health and fitness
enthusiasts and advocates. They write on a regular basis on
timeless health and fitness tips at the Fit After Forty Blog.
See more useful health and fitness news and tips at...
http://www.healthandfitnessvitality.com/blogs/fitnessblog.htm