Roughly 800,000 Americans undergo knee replacement surgery every single year, and growing obesity rates could push that annual number into the millions in the near future. There’s no way to guarantee that you’ll never need to undergo a knee replacement procedure, but scientists and medical researchers have been working to determine some of the best ways to reduce your likelihood of needing a joint replacement operation. In today’s blog, we explore what science has to say about avoiding the need for knee replacement surgery.
Three Ways To Reduce Your Risk Of Knee Arthroplasty
Surgeons, medical experts and researchers are always working to improve our understanding of the best ways to reduce the risk of needing knee replacement surgery. Here’s a look at three science-backed ways to do just that:
- Keep Moving – While movement does put stress on your knees, there is such a thing as good stress. Your knees work optimally when they are challenged each day with movements that are certain to improve or maintain strength, flexibility and function. Activity beckons future activity, whereas inactivity can lead to muscle atrophy and decreased knee function. Don’t assume that inactivity is the best way to be protective of your knees as you get older, because the opposite is actually true. Regular, controlled exercise can greatly reduce your risk of needing to have your knees replaced.
- Lower Body Strengthening – If you’re keen on lowering your risk of avoiding knee surgery, you don’t just want to strengthen your knees, you also want to target the muscle systems that support and stabilize the joint. Developing an exercise or strength training routine that improves the function of muscle groups like your hamstrings, quadriceps, glutes and calves can all play a pivotal role in supporting the knee joint. You can have strong knees, but if the areas that support your knees are weak or underdeveloped, your knees may be forced to handle additional strain when you move, and that can speed up the joint degeneration process.
- Strive For Low Or No Impact Activity – We want you to follow the activities and hobbies that you are passionate about, but know that some will serve to protect your knee health while others may expedite knee degeneration. For older adults, low or no impact athletic activities are best. Running is better than no activity, but it puts a lot of stress on your knee joints, and over time it could increase your risk of knee replacement surgery. Instead, you may find that other activities help you achieve the benefits of exercise without putting as much stress on your knees. Golf, Pickleball, cycling, walking, swimming and tennis are all examples of low or no impact activities that are less impactful on your joints. These activities can be extremely beneficial for older adults who are already dealing with minor to moderate knee degeneration who want to restore or maintain joint function while also working to lower their risk of needing knee replacement surgery.
Stay active, strengthen your lower body and throw yourself into some low impact activities, and you’ll be able to keep your risk of knee replacement surgery low as you age. Of course, if you need help overcoming an existing knee issue or you want to talk with a surgeon to see if an operation may be right for you, reach out to Dr. Botero and his team today at (865) 558-4444.
