What sports can cause knee injuries?

As we all know, the knee joint is one of the most delicate and complex joints in the human body. In daily life and sports, most sports injuries are knee injuries. According to statistics, knee injuries account for 55% of all sports injuries. So why are knee joints prone to injury? What sports can cause knee damage? Let’s take a closer look at it together.

The knee joint is mainly stabilized by tendons, which can easily cause ligament damage. The patellar cartilage is only 0.4 centimeters thick and usually serves as a buffer between the patella and femur. When we run, climb stairs or climb mountains, the load on the knee is several times heavier than usual. If the thigh muscles are not strong enough, the patellar cartilage will easily wear out. The early symptoms of knee injury include knee pain, which worsens after exercise and eases after rest, difficulty walking, limited extension and flexion of the knee joint, difficulty squatting, obvious pain in going up and down stairs, or stabbing pain with sudden movement, and is often accompanied by weak legs and the urge to fall. In severe cases, lower limb muscle atrophy may occur, joint effusion may occur, and synovitis may also occur. After a knee injury, emergency measures must be taken. If the condition is serious, you should go to the hospital for further diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible to avoid delaying the condition.

Knee pain caused by patellar cartilage softening and injury is particularly common in women. The knees begin to ache when going up and down stairs or bending to stand up. Therefore, during the treatment period, you should avoid the above-mentioned movements that easily cause knee strain. In daily life, patients with patellar softening or injury should avoid squatting, kneeling, running, jumping, lifting heavy objects and other actions. It is best to keep your feet straight when sitting to reduce the pressure in the knees. It is best to hold the handrails when standing up to share the force on the knees. To have a healthy knee joint and avoid patellar cartilage softening and worsening of symptoms, the first thing to do is to strengthen the thigh muscles, such as leg-lifting exercises with your back against the ground, swimming, etc. However, when exercising, be careful not to bend your knees more than 90 degrees.

The principle of rehabilitation treatment for sports injuries of the knee joint is "early". Many people believe that as long as the "bone is not damaged", there is no problem with the knee joint and they can move as usual. In fact, this is a misunderstanding. Although the bones are not broken, the damage affects the ligaments and cartilage of the knee joint, causing the joint to become loose and unstable. If not treated in time, it will aggravate the wear of the bone structure of the knee joint and eventually cause osteoarthritis of the knee joint.

Running can cause knee injuries, but it can also prevent them. Preventing knee injuries means preventing 90% of sports injuries. Before running, do warm-up exercises and stretch your joints. Choose a softer surface for running exercises. The softer and more elastic the surface, the better, and the less impact on the knees and feet. Try to avoid running up hills and stairs to avoid damaging the knee cartilage. Do not increase the amount of running too much each time, and avoid running today and not running tomorrow. If you experience symptoms such as joint pain and locking while running, stop the activity and rest, and go to the hospital for examination and treatment if necessary.

Do less strenuous exercise and more appropriate physical exercise. Many people believe that the more and more intense the exercise, the healthier the body. In fact, the more and more intense the exercise, the greater the damage to the knee joint. Appropriate exercise should be selected according to the characteristics of the athlete; long-term, high-intensity, and high-load activities on the knee joints, such as mountain climbing, stair climbing, rock climbing, long-term walking, and rampage, can easily put a burden on the joints and increase the wear of articular cartilage. Such activities should be done in moderation.

The above is all about exercises that are harmful to the knees. When your knees are injured, you must remember to seek early treatment to avoid serious consequences. In addition, sitting for long periods of time and staying up late can easily cause joint degeneration. Therefore, in daily life, we should regularly perform joint flexion and extension exercises to increase muscle strength tolerance and reduce the incidence of osteoarthritis.