Knees: easing pain and keeping them working

Step by step

1. 1

   Step 1: Strengthen the thigh, because the knee cannot help itself

   The muscle at the front of the thigh takes load the knee would otherwise carry, and it is usually the weakest thing about a painful knee. Straightening the leg against gravity while seated, held for a few seconds, is the single most useful exercise there is.

   Learn more: Muscle strength and ageing
2. 2

   Step 2: Keep it moving through its range

   Cartilage has no blood supply and depends on movement to stay nourished, so a knee that is rested completely stiffens and hurts more. Seated bending and straightening, ankle circles and gentle marching keep it fed without loading it.

   Learn more: Arthritis: the three common kinds, and telling them apart
3. 3

   Step 3: Take weight off it where you can

   Leverage is unforgiving here. Every extra kilogram you carry puts roughly three to four kilograms through the knee at each step, so losing five to ten per cent makes a real difference to pain. Good shoes with cushioning help too.

   Learn more: Metabolism: why the weighing scale is the wrong measure
4. 4

   Step 4: Sit and stand in ways that ask less of it

   A higher chair is far easier than a low soft one. Rise by shuffling forward, leaning your nose over your toes and pushing up through your legs. Going downstairs leads with the sore leg; going up leads with the good one.

   Learn more: Footwear & mobility
5. 5

   Step 5: Know when it is not ordinary wear

   See a doctor if the knee is hot and red, suddenly very swollen, gives way under you, locks, or if pain wakes you regularly at night. Those suggest something other than everyday arthritis and are treated differently.

   Learn more: Chair dance fitness: what it actually does for you

All topics in this guide

• Muscle strength and ageing
• Arthritis: the three common kinds, and telling them apart
• Metabolism: why the weighing scale is the wrong measure
• Footwear & mobility
• Chair dance fitness: what it actually does for you

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