Joint And Muscle Rubs For Knee Pain
I find that using creams, like Deep Blue, are particularly effective to help decrease soreness and some pain before bed.
Ive tried Asprecreme and Biofreeze and I personally dont find those quite as effective.
And I find creams like Deep Blue are more effective when you rub them into the muscles, as opposed to just rubbing them over the joints.
Osteoarthritis Affects Millions Of People In The Us
More than 32.5 million adults in the U.S. have osteoarthritis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . And the knee tends to be one of the most commonly affected areas.
According to WebMD, age is a major risk factor for this condition, with the risk of developing osteoarthritis increasing after the you turn 45, but it can occur in young people, too. Factors that can lead to someone developing osteoarthritis at an earlier age include weight, heredity, being a woman, repetitive stress injuries, athletics, and other illnesses like rheumatoid arthritis or certain metabolic disorders. And for more health issues you may face, If You Drink This, You Could Become Resistant to Antibiotics, Study Says.
How To Treat It
Treating this knee pain is all about pain management and what you can do to reduce the stress on those joints. Losing weight is a helpful start. Besides being a key to overall good health, cutting excess pounds lessens the everyday stress on those knee joints and ligaments.
But there are plenty of other ways, too.
Exercise smart
A lot of joint stress is caused by high-impact exercising, especially running on pavement. But there are ways to exercise that can keep you healthy and keep that load off your knee joints. Low-impact exercises like swimming, bicycling and elliptical are good because they exercise the knee joints but dont pound them, says Dr. Stearns.
Knee braces can also be a tool, he adds. There are special braces that work to keep pressure off of certain parts of the knee unloader braces that can sometimes help alleviate arthritis pain.
Medication
If youre considering over-the-counter painkillers to help ease the hurt, Dr. Stearns says its best to take naproxen or ibuprofen because they have anti-inflammatory properties that can help ease the swelling thats causing your knee pain.
Acetaminophen medications, like Tylenol, dont work as well because they mask the pain but do nothing about the source of the pain, he says.
He also recommends taking the dose after dinner as that allows you to have the maximum dose before you head to bed.
Cold versus heat
How to sleep comfortably
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Safe Sleeping Positions: Dos And Donts
Not being able to sleep in your go-to position can certainly keep you up at night. Unfortunately, when it comes to the safety of your new artificial implant, there are some positions that are off-limits. Its important that you stick to safe positions and pay attention to your body.
Around the 6 week mark, once your physician gives you the greenlight, you may be able to return to sleeping in your preferred position . Until then, stick to these positions.
Safe Hip Replacement Sleeping Positions:
Physicians Note: Sleep restrictions are tied to stability precautions. There are more sleep precautions for the posterior approach than the anterior approach. Ask your physician about positional precautions for sleeping to see if she/he have any for your joint replacement type. For instance, Dr. Tiberi adds that, The position recommendations are variable. Personally, I dont have any hip replacement position restrictions on sleep.
Note: It is not safe to sleep on your stomach after hip replacement surgery. Do not attempt to lie in this position. It is also unsafe to sleep on your surgical side. Consult your doctor to see if there are other positions you should avoid. After the 6 week mark, speak to your care team again to see if its safe for you to return to other sleeping positions.
Safe Knee Replacement Sleeping Positions:
Pain On The Side Of Your Hip Is More Likely From Tendinitis Tight Muscles Or Another Condition
Hip bursitis an inflammation between your thighbone and nearby tendons is commonly diagnosed when patients have pain on the outer side of the hip. However, several other conditions can cause similar pain, and require different treatments. Doctors often assume that pain on the outer side of the hip is due to bursitis. But 90% of the time, its not bursitis, says Dr. Lauren Elson, a physiatrist with Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.
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What Can I Do For Knee Pain At Night
There are a number of things you can do to help relieve knee pain at night such as gentle exercises, over the counter medication and home remedies such as ice or heat packs, relaxation, and deep breathing.
Heres knee pain at night treatments:
Apply Ice or Heat Packs: Knee ice wraps typically work better in the short term following an injury, heat pads tend to be better with long term conditions. Use them for 10-20 minutes before going to bed.
Elevate Your Legs: Rest with your legs elevated up on cushions or pillows for around 20 minutes before bedtime. This helps to reduce any swelling in the knee. The elevation is most effective when you are lying down with your knee resting higher than the level of your heart.
Find A Comfortable Sleep Position: If you sleep on your side, try placing a pillow between your knees, if you sleep on your back, try placing a pillow underneath your knee. Make sure you have a good, supportive mattress.
Try Relaxation Techniques: Listen to relaxing music, deep breathing or try a meditation.
Take Medication: Talk to your doctor about over the counter pain relief and anti-inflammatories, or whether you need something stronger. Make sure you take your medication around 30 minutes before going to bed to allow the analgesic effects to kick in before you settle down to sleep. If knee pain is waking you up during the night, talk to your doctor about switching to slow-release medication to help you sleep through until morning
NB dont wear them overnight
How To Relieve Knee Pain At Night
When you finally lay yourself down to sleep after a busy day, the last thing you want to experience is pain that keeps you awake. When knee pain at night sends you tossing and turning, though, there are ways to care for yourself during the day to make it better. Heres your guide to managing and preventing knee pain at night.
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What Conditions Can Exercise Help
Knee exercises and stretches can help relieve knee pain caused by many conditions, including these three that commonly affect older women:
Patellofemoral pain. This condition typically causes a dull, aching pain in the front of the knee thats made worse by daily activities, such as squatting, going up or down stairs, or standing up after sitting for a long period of time. The pain is caused by irritation of the cartilage underneath the kneecap when it does not glide or sit properly. Exercise can help to eliminate problems that lead to this irritation. Stretches can loosen tight muscles on the side of the knee that may be pulling the kneecap out of its groove as it moves. Strengthening weak hip muscles or stretching tight muscles in the front or back of the legs can also reduce discomfort.
Chronic degenerative meniscal tears. When one or both pads of cartilage that cushion each of your knee joints deteriorates or tears, you may feel pain and a sticking or locking sensation. While surgery is sometimes necessary, doctors usually first recommend physical therapy to help build up the muscles around the knee to take the pressure off the joint and reduce discomfort.
Years Of Wear And Tear Can Take A Toll On Your Knees But There Are Strategies To Relieve Pain
Whether it’s a sharp pain or a dull ache, knee pain is a common problem in women particularly older women. One study of women ages 50 and older, published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, found that nearly two-thirds had some type of knee pain during the 12-year study period.
Dr. Rebecca Breslow, a sports medicine doctor and an instructor in orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School, says many of the active older women and the female athletes she sees in her practice have knee pain. While there are numerous pain-inducing knee conditions, three seem to be the most common culprits in older women:
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patellofemoral pain
Below is a guide on how to recognize these conditions and how to treat them.
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Simple Home Exercises And Stretches Can Help Ease Some Common Types Of Knee Pain
If youve got sore knees, exercise might seem like the hardest thing you can do but its also one of the best.
“Exercise is one of the most important things you can do for knee pain,” says Dr. Lauren Elson, an instructor in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School.
The right combination of strengthening and stretching exercises can relieve pain by helping to improve the way the joint moves and functions.
“The knee is often an innocent bystander between the hip and the foot. Knee pain is often caused by problems occurring above or below,” says Dr. Elson.
For example, weak hip muscles may cause more strain on the knee, intensifying your pain. Strengthening the muscles around the hip joint can help relieve it, says Dr. Elson.
In addition, knee pain is sometimes caused or aggravated by tight muscles around the knee, a problem that is often successfully addressed by stretching. If the muscles arent flexible, the knee joint sometimes wont move properly, says Dr. Elson.
Knee Pain In Children
It is quite difficult to see your child wake in the middle of the night due to severe pain in the leg. Most of the time, the pain goes away in the morning but it leaves you wondering if you should do something about it or ignore it altogether. The chances are the pain your child experiences is just growing pains, but it can be something else. Knee pain in children is sometimes an early sign of arthritis or another rheumatic disease. Keep reading to find out more about the causes.
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What Causes The Pain
Knee pain can be caused by a variety of issues, from injury to tendonitis to bursitis . But the primary cause of knee pain, according to Dr. Stearns, is usually a form of arthritis.
People with normal, healthy knees usually dont get pain at night, he says. Theres typically a reason, and its often because they have arthritis, commonly osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis is mechanical in nature, caused by wear-and-tear on the joints as well as the cartilage and tendons associated with the joints. This sets the condition apart from rheumatoid arthritis which is inflammation of the joints, typically caused by an overactive immune system.
While osteoarthritis is typically seen in older patients, it can occur in younger patients, too, particularly those who are prone to overuse of certain joints or suffered significant injuries like ligament tears.
Knee Pain At Night Is Likely The Result Of Osteoarthritis
Knee pain can come and go for anyone, but if you find yourself with reoccurring knee pain at night, you should visit your doctor as it’s often the result of a larger issue. “It’s often because they have arthritis, commonly osteoarthritis,” Kim Stearns, MD, an orthopedic surgeon, explained for Cleveland Health Clinic. “People with normal, healthy knees usually don’t get pain at night.”
Osteoarthritis is a condition caused by wear and tear of the cartilage, which is the tissue protecting your bones and joints. Other symptoms of osteoarthritis in the knee may include swelling, feeling of warmth in the joint, and the presence of a creaking or crackly sound when you move your knees, according to WebMD. And for more topics you may want to talk to your doctor about, If You’re Taking This OTC Medicine More Than Twice a Week, See a Doctor.
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It Could Be Tibialis Anterior Muscle Strain
If youre experiencing pain anywhere from the bottom half of your leg down to your big toe, its not only frustrating, but concerning, too.
Many people with pain in this area assume they have shin splints, but did you know that shin splints is often used as an umbrella term for any pain, strain, and inflammation involving muscles around the shin?
This means that there could be a number of specific conditions causing the pain youre experiencing, including tibialis anterior muscle strain.
Being Active And Managing Stress
If youre not tired at the end of the day, it can be harder to get to sleep. If possible, make sure your routine includes:
- Regular exercise.Water-based exercises are good options as they take the weight off your knees. Tai chi and yoga can help with strength and flexibility. Exercise can also help reduce stress.
- Social activities. If youre no longer working, attending a day center, joining a club, or spending time with friends, family, or neighbors can help you get out and about.
If youre concerned that your stress and anxiety levels are too high or never seem to go away, speak to your doctor. They may be able to help with counseling or medication.
A suitable environment and regular sleeping habits can help improve sleep quality.
Tips include:
- making sure the temperature is not too hot and not too cold
- changing to a more suitable mattress, if necessary
- using blackout blinds to keep out the light
- leaving phones and other devices outside the room
- shutting the door if other people are still up and about
- using earplugs to cut out any noise
- if possible, using the bedroom only for sleeping, not for working or watching television
- having a regular time to wake up and go to bed
- avoiding eating a large meal near bedtime
- avoiding drinking too much fluid close to bedtime or you may wake up needing the bathroom
If you feel anxious about falling when you get up in the night to go to the bathroom, add nightlights in key locations to help you see your way.
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When Should I Worry About Knee Pain
Occasional knee pain because of extraneous activities, such as running or exercising, is common and completely normal, but you should talk to your doctor if your knee pain is consistent and doesnt go away after a few days. Before worrying too much about your knee pain, try some different treatments to see if anything changes, like using heat before bed or changing your shoes to a pair more supportive.
Can You Prevent Knee Problems
Not all knee problems are avoidable, but you can lessen your chance of problems by participating in regular strength training. To protect your knees, it’s important to have a very strong core and strong legs, says Dr. Rebecca Breslow, an instructor in orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School. Make an effort to perform strength training at least twice a week. In addition, work on increasing joint flexibility, which can also help you head off an injury.
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How To Identify The Culprit And Which Drugs Injections And Habits Will Bring You The Most Relief
by Alison Gwinn, AARP, September 20, 2019| 0
En español | Oh, my aching knees! If thats your daily refrain, whether youre walking the dog, climbing stairs or just sleeping, youre not alone.
For many, the culprit behind that nagging soreness is osteoarthritis, which affects an estimated 31 million Americans quite often, in this particular joint according to the Arthritis Association.
But there are other common causes of knee pain, stemming from the fact that knees are our largest, most complex joints. Knee joints allow you to stand up straight, walk stairs and get up and down from sitting, says Daniel Saris, an orthopedic surgeon at the Mayo Clinic and professor of orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Medical School. But they are also the most difficult joint because theyre not stable. Hip joints and ankles are both pretty stable by themselves, but the knee is just three bones trying to be good friends, and they need muscles and ligaments for stability.
Knee pain is not to be taken lightly. A Japanese study, published last year in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, found a link between the onset of knee pain in people 65 or older and depression. And a recent study from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine Thurston Arthritis Research Center and Harvards Brigham and Womens Hospital found that knee pain in men and women over age 45 correlated with higher rates of death.
Pain In Hip Down To Knee
Hip pain that radiates down to the knee can be very uncomfortable. Your knee and hip joints are the largest joints in your body they support your bodys weight and they work together to give you the mobility that is sometimes taken for granted.
The hip is a ball-and-socket joint that helps you move your legs with a wide variety of motions that you use throughout the day, like going up and down stairs. It has a wide range of motion and is very stable if the knee joint works properly. The joint, which sits atop the femur, is called the femoral head, and the socket created by the hollow of your pelvis is called the acetabulum. Surrounding the joint is the fibrous capsule sleeve that holds the bones together.
The knee is an incredibly complex joint that goes through a tremendous range of motion. It has many muscles that cross the knee joint to help control its movement while walking, running, squatting, or going up and down stairs. All of this movement occurs while supporting your body weight. The internal components of the knee include several strong ligament structures that prevent excessive shearing motions. Likewise, we have several strong muscles that cross the outside of the knee joint including the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gastrocnemius muscles.
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