man with knee pain

Do you think you have a knee sprain? The following questions will help you decide. Have you had a niggly issue in your knee while exercising? Or perhaps you have been sitting for a while and when you go to get up, bam!there is that dull ache again? Or have you felt some stiffness getting out of bed first thing in the morning? Well fear not! Help is at hand.  Here are 7 tips to prevent your knee discomfort from progressing to pain and injury.

Tips to avoid knee sprain:

  1. You don’t have to stop exercising! Substitute high intensity exercises like running with lower intensity workouts. I know for all you fitness freaks out there will nearly have a heart attack. But the best thing to do is to avoid undue stresses on the joint and let it heal. What’s the point if you push yourself through pain and ultimately you end up aggravating your knee sprain to the point you cannot work out at all???
  2. Use an ice pack! If you do prolonged walking or standing at work, use an ice pack for 15-20 mins after each work day. You can even put an ice pack after exercising around the knee.
  3. Decrease the incline on the treadmill or walk on flat areas instead of hills. This will reduce the rolling of the feet.
  4. Ensure you are wearing proper supportive shoes at all times especially if you are flat footed. And please don’t wear thongs unless you have thongs that have arch supports in them.
  5. Avoid sitting cross legged! There is a lot of pressure on the knee cap after about 90 degrees of knee bend.
  6. Change position every 30-40 mins
  7. Do the right exercises to strengthen the muscles to protect the knee long term. See an exercise physiologist to prescribe an exercise program. They can make sure you aren’t doing any exercises that may increase your pain and check your technique is correct. A new program may be required to improve muscle balance and stability.

By taking the above steps, you will reduce your chances of knee sprain becoming worse and limiting factor in your work, life and play!

Remember pain is not normal. If despite all the above efforts, the knee pain still persists, it is important to see a Physiotherapist. We can diagnose the exact cause of pain and do treatment that will get rid of pain. Our Physios use hands on techniques like joint mobilizations and massage to improve circulation and get rid of inflammation.