Chino Hills – We’re nearing the end of this series discussing knee pain, it’s various causes, and the best treatment options. Often times when we first start helping our clients eliminate their knee pain, one of the most important things we can do is tell them what NOT to do. Remember that in this early phase of recovery our main goal is to reduce pain and inflammation, so it makes sense that if there are a few things that are really aggravating the knee, then we need to get rid of these things as soon as possible.
The interesting thing about these 4 things (or “mistakes” if you will), is that they usually occur after you take some well-meaning advice from a friend, or possibly even your doctor. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the 4 most common mistakes we see people with knee pain making:
4 MISTAKES that make knee pain WORSE
1. REST
When you first experience knee pain it makes sense to rest the irritated leg, especially if you just had a fall or some type of injury. You might even need to use crutches or a cane for a short period. But what happens when you continue to rest your knee, and the pain doesn’t get better? Yes, you guessed it! Your knee becomes weaker and more stiff. So if your knee pain doesn’t improve after a short period of rest, a longer period of rest will definitely make your knee pain worse in the long run.
2. MEDICATIONS
Similar to rest, taking medications, like anti-inflammatories and pain-killers, might make sense for a short period following a knee injury (emphasis on MIGHT). However, here’s what happens over time: the medications mask your pain, and you never uncover or treat the ROOT CAUSE of your pain. And over time, this makes your knee pain worse. Eventually, a lot of people end up at the point where they’re dependent on medications just to go for a walk. Not a good place to be!
3. WEARING A BRACE
I have nothing against wearing a brace from time to time, especially if you just want a little extra support during a more active day. However, if you’re relying on a brace to hold up you knee on a regular, daily basis, you’re missing something. You can probably see the theme here: unless you figure out WHY your knee is feeling unstable, and you do something about it, the feeling of instability isn’t likely going to improve, in fact it will likely worsen over time.
4. THE WRONG EXERCISES
Doing some generic exercises is often one of the first pieces of well-meaning advice you’ll receive. And with the ridiculous amount of available information on the internet, you can probably find about 50 exercises you could do to try to help your knee pain. However, generic exercises rarely help you target the specific areas that are causing your pain. If you get lucky, they might be a good starting point, but that’s about it. What’s even more concerning is this: if you end up doing the wrong exercises, you might just make your pain worse!
A lot can go wrong when dealing with knee pain…but rest assured, the majority of people suffering from knee pain can get better and get back their active lifestyles. It’s just a matter of finding the right path to your goals. If you’re looking to just get started on pain relief, and you’re not quite sure if you’re ready for any help yet, I have an excellent resource I’d like to share with you today:
It’s my FREE report titled “7 Simple Ways to Stop Knee Pain…Without Injections, Pain Medications, or Having To Wear A Support!” Inside the report, I’ll walk you through simple ways to start reducing your knee pain right away. And more likely, you’ll find 1-2 tips that will really help you start to feel better quickly.
I’ll talk to you again next week, and we’ll wrap up this series on knee pain.
