Surprising “More for Less” Knee Pain Solution

Rest. When you do something like sprain an ankle or strain an elbow it’s the FIRST thing you do.

You instinctively know you need to give the joint some “time off” to recover.

And it works.

Because typically the swelling recedes and the pain subsides. And it’s not long before you’re back in the swing of things footloose and pain-free.

So when you start to feel the aches and pains of osteoarthritis in your knee it’s only natural you turn to your tried-and-true solution. After all, its always worked before.

Besides “wear and tear” is what destroyed the cartilage in your painful, stiff, and swollen joint in the first place. So it just makes sense to avoid MORE wear, right?

Wrong. A surprising study has revealed that might not be the case after all.

In fact, the researchers uncovered a bafflingly effective solution to knocking out that knee pain.

For the study, researchers surveyed over 1,000 volunteers 50 or older who had been diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis.

Some study participants were battling persistent pain at the start of the study and others were not.

But it turns out after four years it was being more ACTIVE that kept the condition from progressing!

In fact, the folks who weren’t already in agony who moved MORE fared best.

And we’re not even talking about extreme exercise here. In fact, the volunteers who had the most success simply WALKED at least 10 times during the four-year study period.

And their return on that investment?

• They were LESS likely to experience regular knee pain or stiffness.
• They had LESS structural damage in their knees

By the end of the study 37 percent of folks who DIDN’T walk for exercise developed new, regular knee pain. While only 26 percent of the frequent walkers experienced the same jump in knee pain.

Now, to be realistic we’re not talking about a cure here. But delaying the progression of the condition and dialing down the pain are HUGE wins for anyone with an osteoarthritis diagnosis.

And that’s especially true if they help you avoid risky and painful surgeries or heavy-duty drugs.

So WHY does it work?

Simple, the more active you are the more you strengthen and build the muscles and ligaments surrounding the affected joints.

If you’ve been instinctively moving less to “protect” your knees it’s time to do the opposite. With your doctor’s okay give walking a try instead.

Just be sure to start off slow and gentle and to not overdo it. As you strengthen the areas around the knee you can pick up the pace and distance.

P.S. Walking is great, but don’t stop there. Try THIS to slow the progression of osteoarthritis by up to 50 percent.

SOURCE:

“Association Between Walking for Exercise and Symptomatic and Structural Progression in Individuals With Knee Osteoarthritis: Data From the Osteoarthritis Initiative Cohort,” Arthritis & Rheumatolgy, Volume 74, Issue 10, October 2022, Pages 1660-1667, https://doi.org/10.1002/art.42241