4 Knee-Safe Exercises: Keep Those Joints Healthy

Perform an Internet search concerning injuries and you’ll find a lot of information about how to treat them. But where are all the articles about attempting to prevent knee injuries?

In the simplest of descriptions, the knee is a joint comprised of three bones and held together by four ligaments. Its job is to support the body and allow for shock absorption. From this description, it’s obvious that excess body fat will place tremendous stress on the knees. The first strategy to adopt to prevent knee injuries is to reduce body fat. The second is to perform exercises that strengthen the surrounding muscles of the knees.

Here are several suggested exercises to help prevent knee injury:

Squats build strength in the lower body with an emphasis on the quadriceps (front of the thigh). If one is overweight, then chair squats without the use of weights can be performed. A lowering to a parallel position is not critical for those with excess weight. In fact, a partial lowering may be a better strategy to initially protect the knee while strengthening the quadriceps.

Chair Squat (see the video below)

Starting Position:
–Perform this exercise with the aid of a sturdy chair.
–Stand in front of the chair with your back toward the chair and feet shoulder-width apart.
–Keep your head up as a natural extension of your spine.

Movement:
–Begin to sit in the chair lowering your body until your legs are at a 90-degree angle (if possible).
–Contracting your quadriceps, slowly return to the starting position, stopping just short of the legs being fully extended. Keep a slight bend in the knees.

Key Points:
–Inhale while sitting in the chair.
–Exhale while raising yourself from the chair.
–As you get stronger, you will want to add resistance such as dumbbells in your hands.

Here’s one anyone can do. If you’re experienced and have access to gym equipment, you can use the prone leg curl machine. For beginners, try the one below. Again, we are attempting to strengthen surrounding muscles of the knees to reduce stress on the knees.

Lying Double Leg CurlLying Double Leg Curl

Starting Position:
–Lie on your stomach with both hands under your head for comfort.
–Ankle weights may be worn to increase intensity.

Movement:
–Contracting the hamstrings muscles, curl both legs toward your buttocks stopping when your knees are at a 90-degree angle.
–Slowly return to the starting position.

Key Points:
–Exhale while you curl your legs up.
–Inhale while returning to the starting position.

Now we move to the inside of the legs — also referred to as the adductor muscles. Our goal is to completely strengthen the upper leg to protect those shock absorbers.

Lying Leg AdductionLying Leg Adduction

Starting Position:
–Lie on your right side with your right arm supporting your upper body.
–Your right leg should be straight and your left leg should be bent.
–Support your weight on your right arm and left leg.

Movement:
• Contracting the inner thigh muscles, lift your right leg up until you feel a contraction of the inner thigh muscles.
• After completing the set on the right side, perform the exercise on the left side.

Key Points:
–Exhale while lifting your leg up.
–Inhale while returning to the starting position.
–You may use ankle weights to increase the level of difficulty.
–If you are an intermediate exerciser, you can add resistance to the inner thigh as you are lifting. You can resist your inner thigh with your hand or use a weighted object.

Now, let’s make sure we strengthen the muscles below the knee. People seldom work their calf muscles and this is a critical muscle that helps support the knees.

Standing Calf Raise (see the video below)

Starting Position:
• Stand with your feet 12-inches apart with your weight on the front or balls of the foot and knees slightly bent.
• You may wish to use a chair or wall for stability.

Movement:
• Contracting the calf muscles, lift your heels off the floor until you feel a full contraction of the calf muscles.
• Slowly return to the starting position stopping just short of your heels touching the floor.

Key Points:
• Exhale while lifting yourself up.
• Inhale while returning to the starting position.

Perform the above exercises for one to three sets of 12 repetitions on two to three alternate days of the week and use impeccable form.

The exercises above combined with a nutrition program that focuses on body fat reduction will greatly assist in preventing knee injuries. Make sure to add upper body strength exercises, cardio and flexibility exercises to your program as well.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Take Plenty of:

• Raw vegetables and apples to help to protect the gum
• Ginger, cinnamon, mustard and horseradish for sinuses
• Whole grain cereals and water to avoid constipation
• Carrots, broccoli, spinach and citrus fruit for beta carotene and vitamin C

Cut Down:

• Sugar, sweets, sweet drinks, cakes and biscuits to protect the teeth and gum and reduce plaque

Avoid:

• Garlic, onions and curry
• Alcohol and all tobacco products

Unless it is cause by illness, halitosis can usually be eliminated by sensible eating habits and thorough oral hygiene. Bad breath is usually a trivial complaint, and it is often caused by curry, garlic, alcohol or cigarettes.

Digestive disorders and constipation can also cause halitosis, and here again a healthy sensible diet often help. However, it is important to seek professional dental or medical advice if the cause of halitosis is not easily identified or remedied.

Food odors can be avoided by chewing a few dill seeds or a couple of coffee beans after a meal. Caraway and cardamom seeds are also effective, while chewing a spring of fresh parsley is claimed to rid the breath of garlic and alcohol odors. Regular brushing with a good toothbrush, and eating plenty of fiber-rich  foods such as raw vegetables, apples and pears help to massage the gum and keep them healthy. Reduce plaque formation by cutting down on sugary drinks and foods – particularly foods that stick to the teeth – and brush and floss your teeth as regularly as possible.

Breath as a healthy indicator

Sometimes breath odor can be a key to medical diagnosis – the acetone smell of a diabetic coma, the ammonia smell of uremia or the fishy smell of liver failure.

But the most common cause of bad breath can usually be found in the mouth – a bad tooth or abscess, a build up of tartar, inflamed and infected gum or rotting food in crevices or mouth ulcers.

A gargle and mouthwash made by adding 30 drops of tincture of myrrh (available from most chemists) to a glass of warm water will help to keep your breath sweet. Patent antiseptic mouthwashes can kill helpful as well harmful bacteria.

Problems in the mouth, the nose and sinuses, the lungs or the stomach and digestive tract can all lead to bad breath; so can use of the sedative par aldehyde. To relieve sinus problems and catarrh, try reducing your intake of dairy products and eat decongestant spice such as ginger, cinnamon, mustard and horseradish. It may also help to add 5 or 6 drops of eucalyptus oil to a bowl of hot water then inhale the pungent stream.

Chronic chest infections require medical attention, but you can help yourself to avoid them by not smoking and eating plenty of carrots, broccoli, spinach and citrus fruits for their beta carotene and vitamin C, which help to protect lung tissue.

Constipation, ulcers and indigestion can provoke halitosis. Sucking pepperminths or chewing gum may hide it, but it is best to deal with the cause by increasing your fibre and fluid consumption. Try eating wholemeal bread instead of white, eating plenty of fruit and vegetables and drinking a couple of extra glasses of water a day.

Popularity: 3% [?]