Joint care is essential for a healthy old age.
To maintain your joints for a long time, you should exercise properly while avoiding excessive use.
According to the "2021 Health Insurance Statistical Yearbook" by the National Health Insurance Corporation and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, about 5 million people received treatment for arthritis last year, ranking first, followed by 7.06 million for high blood pressure.
Joints that enable daily movement, like mechanical parts, are overworked or broken over time. The more frequently used joints, the faster the cartilage that connects the bones and absorbs the shock wears out.
To maintain healthy joints for a long time, use them wisely while avoiding overuse.
Hong Se-jeong, director of orthopedic surgery at Gangbuk Himchan Hospital, said, "If you have joint pain, it is important to gently loosen the joint through proper exercise," and explained, "The weakened muscles around the joint cannot absorb external shocks applied to the joint itself and cannot withstand pressure from weight, which eventually increases the pain caused by arthritis."
If the amount of exercise decreases in winter and the use of joints decreases, the surrounding muscles will also weaken. The weakened muscles have less strength to support the joints, and the flexibility of the joints decreases, leading to worsening pain. If you strengthen your muscles, you can protect your joints and move them stably. For people suffering from arthritis, it is important to prepare for pain caused by exercise by expanding the range of joint movement and stretching repeatedly.
Walking is a basic exercise that does not strain the body. Walking three times a week to the point that even if your joints are weak, you will strengthen the muscles and ligaments around your knee joints.
However, excessive walking exercise can increase knee pain, so you should avoid walking fast or walking for a long time unconditionally. In particular, in cold weather, you should choose the intensity and time of exercise well considering your exercise ability and health condition.
In addition, exercises that strengthen muscles and ligaments are essential for joint protection.
In the case of the knee, the thigh and calf muscles that support the joint above and below the knee should be developed. Above all, it is important to protect knee cartilage by strengthening thigh muscles. Cycling is a representative exercise that strengthens thigh muscles. If you have joint pain, it is recommended to ride an indoor fixed bicycle.
If you have severe knee pain, it is recommended to exercise to increase knee muscle strength without stressing your joints. Roll the towel and place it under the knee, and press the towel with the sprain while straightening the knee. While pulling your toes, press down on the towel with your knees and hold it for 4 seconds, then slowly release the force again for about 3 seconds.
At this time, repeat the same movement, taking care not to fall off the floor. The action of pressing and holding the towel while pulling the foot toward the body stimulates the femoral quadriceps in front of the thigh, especially good for strengthening the inner light muscle. A total of two to three sets of exercise are recommended seven times in one set, and you can do it even if arthritis is severe, but you can adjust the strength and number of sets according to your pain.
The exercise to maintain the muscles around the knees that can be done indoors is to tie 500-1000g of objects to the ankles and lift them while lying down. With the legs stretched out, raise the legs about 10 to 20cm, maintain them for about 10 seconds, and then put them back on the floor about 100 times. Arthritis patients should keep in mind that the more they use the joints, the more suitable exercise stimulates around the joints, making the muscles above the joints stronger.
Writer: Chelsie Song
(Picture from Unsplash)
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