What’s A Knee To Do?

Consider your knees as springs and shock absorbers. They allow you to move effortlessly, with no clunking, strain, or hard landings. They facilitate gliding up and down stairs. Think Scarlett O’Hara. Or a Grand Entrance. Knees might be the secret to moving well. They absorb the shock of running or jumping, while maintaining stability for the rest of the body.

Ever watch ice skaters? The really good ones land their jumps with deep knee bends, absorbing the force of their full weight landing on a single foot. The ones who don’t land with good knee bend will, over time, have knee issues.

How do we treat our knees? We ignore them, abuse them, and put them into awkward positions, throwing them out of alignment. Do we really need to sit on the ground with our butt between our folded back legs and our feet turned out. My brain hurts even thinking about all the years, as a child, that I sat on the floor that way. This position not only rotates femurs (upper leg) inward, causing strain on the hips, but also rotates the knee and lower leg outward, torquing everything. It over stretches the ligaments and tendons, and not in a good way.

What to do? Move your knees, even a little, to keep them in good working order, and strengthen them. Walking is an easy way to work the knees (legs bend, straighten, bend, straighten) and squats (yes, them!) strengthen the ligaments, tendons and quadriceps (upper leg muscles) that hold the knees in place. Think of it as armor protection for the springs and shock absorbers for your body. Climbing stairs is another reason not to take the elevator, and it gives strength to a body part that you would be sad to have compromised. A life with bad knees is a limited life.

If you are lucky enough to live in a house with stairs, use them more than is required. Your knees will thank you, and your overall health will improve. And here’s a weird tip: if your knees hurt, move your elbows more. Bend and straighten the elbows, make circles, and shake them. Through the nervous system, knees and elbows talk to each other. Your body talks to itself all the time, and everything affects everything else. Learn body language so you can talk to your body and keep yourself healthy, physically strong, and moving.

That’s Aging Intelligently