11 Things to Avoid That Can Cause Knee Pain

It strikes you all of a sudden and you feel as if your leg will lose its ability to support your body. Yes, knee pain is always frustrating and even scary.

It can signal serious injury so you should never take it lightly. You must seek medical treatment right away. With the modern treatment methods, you can improve and get completely cured quickly. Still, prevention is the best cure, as the old saying goes.

Find out more about the most common knee pain causes and how to avoid them.

1. Missing the Warmup

Even the best professional athletes don’t do this as they realize the possible consequences -injuries, pain and lagging behind. A warmup session usually lasts no more than fifteen minutes, but it is invaluable.

To avoid knee pain, in particular, you should do exercises for stretching the leg muscles and for preparing the knee joints and tendons for the main workout.

2. Overuse of the Knee

It may be pretty obvious, but sometimes passionate athletes tend to neglect this risk. If you practice a sport which involves knee exertion for a considerable amount of time such as long-distance running, hiking and skiing, you are more likely to suffer from knee pain and from injuries too.

To avoid trouble, you should plan and schedule your training in line with your physical abilities. Athletic progress is a great thing, but not at the expense of health problems.

3. Wrong Exercise and Sports Techniques

There is a right way of doing everything from simple leg stretches to turns in sports like hockey, starts in short-distance running and jumps in basketball. If you are not familiar with the right technique or you are doing things wrong, the risk of knee injuries is considerable. To avoid this particular type of knee pain cause, you should work with a professional trainer or coach.

4. Heavy Weight Lifting

This is one of the most common knee pain causes not only for professional weight lifters, but for people who are involved in straight training. Even someone who tries to lift a heavy object off the floor as part of another activity can experience sever back and knee pain.

In any of these cases, you have to mind the limits of your body. If you do weight lifting as a sport of exercise, you should work out based on a carefully devised program.

5. Sudden Activity Level Increase

You’ve been a couch potato for several weeks or months and you suddenly decided to go back to your 1-hour daily run. The risk of knee pain becomes very high in this situation.

Similarly, if you’ve been making 10 squats per training session, but you decide to make a big leap forward with 30 squats, the consequences can be serious.

A steady progress will help you reach your athletic goals quickly as you won’t have to rest for a long period of time to recover from injuries. Smart training will help you to avoid this common knee pain cause.

6. Sudden Activity Level Drop

If you stop working out and stay without exercise for a month or two, your muscles, bones, tendons and joints will get weaker. This will increase the risk of injuries even when you do daily activities.

To avoid this common knee pain cause, you should maintain your level of activity optimal at all times. If you cannot keep your exercise schedule during a particular week because of too much work in the office, you can make up during the weekend.

Of course, you must remember to avoid exertion.

7. Considerable Weight Gain

The knee joints bear the weight of practically the whole body during movement. That is why if you get heavier, they will get extra exertion. This is one of the most common knee pain causes, especially in women.

The best way to avoid weight gain is to adopt a healthy diet and exercise plan suitable for your level of fitness and to stick to them at all times.

8. Excessive Jumping

This puts major strain on the knee and can cause great pain, especially on the front of the kneecap. While you can control the number of jumps during regular exercise routine, this is more difficult when you play basketball or volleyball.

That is why it is best to focus on strengthening your leg muscles to avoid this one of the knee pain causes. You will also benefit from putting knee straps on while playing.

9. Bad Shoes

Poorly designed trainers can cause knee pain and increase the risk of injuries. The ideal sports shoes offer arch support allowing all joints, tendons, bones and muscles of the leg to work effectively. If you have problems with your trainers, it’s probably time to get new ones.

Additionally, women should be careful with their high heels as they can cause major strain on the knee joint and pain too. If you have to put a pair on, try to sit most of the time or at least to get long breaks between active periods.

10. Lack of Nutrients, Minerals and Vitamins

People with lower than the optimal levels of calcium, iron, vitamin D and other important minerals and vitamins are more likely to experience pain and suffer from knee injuries.

This is because their bones and joints are not in optimal condition. There is no need to resort to supplements to avoid this one of the knee pain causes.

A diet featuring low-fat dairy products, and especially yogurt and feta cheese, dark leafy greens and eggs, fatty fish and nuts in optimal amounts will help you stay healthy and in shape.

11. Not Stopping on Time

You feel discomfort or mild pain in the knee. Still, you ignore it and keep working out.

Needless to say, this puts you at risk of a more serious injuring involving greater pain and a longer recovery time. It is usually hard to think long-term when you are passionate about a sport, but this is essential for avoiding the major knee pain causes.

Get sufficient rest and seek medical help if your symptoms don’t improve with home remedies after two or three days.