This write up will discuss some of the most effective home remedies you can try to heal knee pain at home.
Knee pain is extremely common among elderly people and these days even younger ones are suffering from the condition.
You can get knee pain both due to a long-term health issue and a short-term problem.
If you have pain in your knees due to a short-term problem, there are high possibilities that you will get remission without visiting a doctor. The natural remedies discussed below would be enough for offering you complete pain relief.
You can also try these remedies when you have a chronic knee pain. But in that case, the natural remedies should work in cognition with the medications prescribed by your doctor.
Read on to get acquainted with the home remedies.
Contents
5 Home Remedies to Heal Knee Pain at Home
1) Perform Strengthening Exercises
Experts believe that if you can strengthen your quadricep muscles, you will be able to offer greater protection to your knee joints.
For those who don’t know, the quadricep muscles are located at the front and sides of our thighs.
You can perform the following exercises to have stronger quadriceps:
Exercise 1
- Lie down with your back on the floor or sit with your back straight.
- Straighten a leg and raise it.
- Count 10 and bring the leg down.
- Repeat the action with the other leg.
- Do this 5 times with each leg.
Exercise 2
- Sit on a chair keeping your back straight.
- Stand up and sit again.
- Continue the action for a minute.
- You should be slow when standing up and sitting down. Also, make sure you are not using your hands for obtaining support.
Exercise 3
- Place yourself in front of a chair’s backrest.
- Hold the chair and perform squats until your kneecaps cover your toes.
- Perform 10 repetitions of the exercise.
- This exercise would help you prevent knee pain.
Ideally, you should get in touch with a physical therapist working in your area. He would guide you about the most effective exercises for managing knee pain.
2) Maintain Correct Postures
If you fail to maintain correct postures, you will end up aggravating your knee joint problems. And if you are not yet a victim of knee pain, incorrect posture will make you one very soon.
This happens because incorrect posture eventually leads to knee strain.
Here are a few things you can do for maintaining a perfect posture:
- Don’t sit on low chairs or couches that make you sink into them.
- If your office chair is too low, place a pillow on it and raise the seating level.
- Always keep your back straight when sitting. Slouching and leaning would not only harm your spinal cord but would also put extra pressure on your knees.
- Wear supportive shoes. You should stay away from shoes featuring broken arches.
- Don’t stay in a standing or sitting position for a prolonged period. This may leave your joint stiff and trigger knee pain.
3) Try RICE
The acronym RICE stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation.
Practicing the above methods can offer you complete relief from mild knee pains resulting from soft tissue injuries like a sprain.
Rest (R) will decrease your chances of aggravating the injury or incurring a new injury. It would also provide your tissues with the much-needed time for healing.
However, you should not stop all kinds of movements when taking rest. That’s because staying completely inactive can result in joint stiffness and muscle weakness.
Ice (I) will help you by reducing the inflammation and swelling.
Take a bowlful of ice cubes, wrap them using a piece of cloth, and apply the icepack on the affected area. Continue for 15 to 20 minutes.
You can do this, three to four times every day until your knee pain subsides.
Never commit the mistake of applying ice directly onto your skin. That might end up causing further damage.
Compression (C) would alleviate the feeling of discomfort.
The bandage or knee support you will be using for this step must be firm but should not be too tight.
Elevation (E) when lying down or sitting i.e. keeping your legs raised will promote better circulation and decrease swelling significantly.
For best results, sleep with your knees above your heart’s level.
4) Hot & Cold Therapy
If your knee pain is caused by arthritis, this remedy would do wonders for you.
You will have to apply hot and cold packs alternatively on the affected parts.
Heat would relax your muscles and improve lubrication. This, in turn, would reduce your joint stiffness.
You can apply heat onto the affected knee joints using a heat pad or a bottle filled with hot water.
Applying a cold pack, on the other hand, would help in reducing inflammation, swelling, and pain.
5) Massage the Area Using an Essential Oil
You can either hire a masseur or practice self-massage for getting rid of knee pain.
There are a few rules that you must follow when massaging your knees.
When massaging your knees, always sit with the knees pointing forward. Place your feet flat on the ground.
Use essential oils for massaging. This will help in reducing the pain even faster.
According to a study conducted in 2008, using a combination of orange and ginger oil for massage reduces mild to severe knee pain caused by osteoarthritis.
These oils have also been proved to improve joint movements in arthritis patients.
During another investigation
, researchers came to know that massaging using an ointment formulated with sesame, ginger, cinnamon, and mastic oil can also be useful in alleviating knee pain.
The mentioned ointment succeeded in improving motion of the affected joint and reduced stiffness and pain considerably.
You can buy all the above-mentioned essential oils from both offline and online stores and prepare your own massage oil.
Conclusion
If the above remedies to heal knee pain fail to reduce your knee pain even after a week, you should get yourself checked by a qualified physician.
Visiting a doctor is a must even if the pain keeps coming back after a few days of remission.
References –
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/311280
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/home-remedies/7-best-home-remedies-to-get-rid-of-knee-pain/photostory/72186471.cms
