October 12 is the "International Arthritis Day", and the purpose of this "holiday" is to call for the whole society to understand the disease of arthritis, prevent it early, and improve people's quality of life.
When it comes to arthritis, we may naturally think of some old sayings, such as "100 days to break muscles and bones", "people are old and old legs" and so on. Among them, arthritis of the knee joint is the most common. Today, we will take the knee joint as a starting point and talk in detail about how arthritis comes about and how to prevent arthritis.
How does the knee work?
The knee joint is the largest joint in our body, and it is mainly made up of our thigh bone (femur), lower leg bone (tibia), and patella (called "corrugated cover" in some places).
The picture comes from the Internet
The main movement of the knee joint is flexion and extension, and there are also some subtle sliding and rotation during flexion and extension. There are also many ligaments in and around the knee joint, such as the anterior cruciate ligament and the posterior cruciate ligament, which work to prevent excessive anterior-posterior displacement of the tibia during knee movement.
The knee joint has a medial collateral ligament on the inside and a lateral collateral ligament on the outside, and they are mainly responsible for protecting the tibia from left and right displacement, that is, the valgus of the knee joint. In the gap between the joints, there is also a structure called the meniscus, which is somewhat similar in appearance to the meniscus, which mainly plays the function of deepening the joint socket and improving stability.
On the surface of the joint, it is also covered with a layer of white cartilage, and with the cooperation of synovial fluid in the joint, the friction between the cartilage is very low, so that we can move silkily. As a structure that can move on the front side of the knee joint, the patella can play a role in increasing the torque, through the role of the patella, when the quadriceps muscle of our thigh exerts force, it can better apply the force to the tibia, so as to complete the kicking action.
Many people say: people are old before they are old. This is because the knee joint is used at a very high rate, and whether you are walking or going up or down steps, the knee joint is almost the most stressed.
Therefore, most people will experience knee discomfort after a certain age, when the joints are worn and worn to a certain extent. This type of joint is called osteoarthritis due to wear and tear over many years of use. The core problem of osteoarthritis is the damage of cartilage on the joint surface.
What happens to cartilage damage?
We generally divide the cartilage of the human body into three categories:
1. Fibrocartilage, such as the meniscus we are talking about above, is fibrocartilage;
2. Elastic cartilage, such as the cartilage inside our nose and ears;
3. Hyaline cartilage, which is the most precious cartilage that covers the surface of our joints.
Even today, with the development of technology, we still cannot regenerate the hyaline cartilage on the joint surface. There are no blood vessels inside the hyaline cartilage, and its metabolism mainly depends on the synovial fluid of the joint, so when the hyaline cartilage is traumatized or worn out, it is difficult for us to restore and repair it. So theoretically, after adulthood, hyaline cartilage is a process of constant wear.
With age, cartilage will gradually degenerate, for example, the cartilage texture in some parts may change from tough to soft, and some parts will also appear local thinning, cracking, roughness, and even peeling. At this time, our human body will have a series of reactions, such as joint pain, weakness, frequent swelling and so on.
The stock copyright picture, reprinting and using may cause copyright disputes
If severe wear and tear continues, it can also lead to limited range of motion, joint deformities and other conditions. The above series of joint symptoms caused by cartilage wear and tear are defined as osteoarthritis.
Is there anything that can be prevented?
For young people, there is no need to be overly nervous, because osteoarthritis of the knee joint generally occurs after a certain age.
Of course, the onset of osteoarthritis is also a gradual and slow process. If you want to avoid the occurrence of osteoarthritis, I hope you can pay attention to the following points.
1
Maintain a reasonable exercise routine
In fact, the human body is also a very delicate "mechanical structure", so if this "mechanical structure" does not operate for a long time, it will inevitably face the situation of "rust".
Proper exercise habits can keep joints in optimal condition. Of course, you can't exercise too much, everyone's limit is different, you must fully understand your own ability, reasonable exercise can make the joints use longer.
The stock copyright picture, reprinting and using may cause copyright disputes
2
Control your weight
You must know that when we go up and down steps, run, jump and other sports, the knee joint often generates pressure several times its own body weight, so if the weight is not controlled, it will inevitably affect the life of the knee joint.
In addition to a reasonable diet, regular exercise mentioned above is also the most effective way to control weight. But this thing has to be done in front, many people find that they are overweight, and then when they have joint pain, they want to make up for it and lose weight by surprise exercise, which often only makes the joints more injured.
3
Maintain muscle strength around the knee joint
There are many muscles around the knee joint, and the most important muscle for the knee joint is the quadriceps muscle, the quadriceps muscle is mainly composed of the quadriceps medial head, lateral head, rectus femoris and femoris intermedias.
A strong quadriceps muscle can fully improve the stability of the knee joint, thus avoiding the occurrence of additional adverse stress on the knee joint. If we can intervene in muscle strength training in advance to slow down the loss of muscles, then the life of our knee joints will be extended accordingly.
Finally, I would like to recommend a very simple and effective way to train the quadriceps muscles of the knee joint, which you can do at home or in the office:
Sit on a bed or a large, sturdy table with your knees hanging naturally. Then slowly kick one leg forward so that your thighs and calves are parallel to the ground.
- Points to note: When doing this movement, the idea is to kick the knee joint, not to raise the leg, otherwise the contraction will come more from the rectus femoris and iliopsoas muscles, which may cause discomfort in the hip joint.
√ correct posture:
Source: Photographed by the author
× wrong posture (thighs slightly raised off the bed):
Source: Photographed by the author
When you kick to the very end, hold it for 30 seconds to 1 minute, and you will feel a soreness in the muscles above the knee joint, and you can slowly lower it when you are tired to the limit. Some people who have had knee pain before may have pain that is worse during the fall, which can be avoided by holding the other leg to assist in the fall. Generally, after 2~3 weeks, this pain or discomfort will gradually disappear.
This action is generally recommended to be held for about 1 minute each time, 6~8 sets a day. As time goes on, the muscles begin to grow, and many people are no longer tired in about 1 minute, so you can either gradually extend the leg lift time or add small sandbags to the ankles to increase resistance.
As shown in the figure below↓↓↓
Source: Photographed by the author
Osteoarthritis of the knee is something that most of us may experience, but if our muscle strength is maintained, the impact of osteoarthritis on us is much less. In my clinical work, I have found a rule that may be a bit counterintuitive, that is, the more inactive people are, the more likely they are to develop osteoarthritis, and the more regular and reasonable exercise, the better their joints tend to be.
I hope everyone can find a suitable exercise for themselves, to participate, to persevere, so that our joints live longer!
Source: Popular Science China