Stretching Exercises After Knee Replacement Surgery

So you have discussed knee replacement surgery with your doctor and you both agree that ending your everyday pain is a necessary solution to living life to the fullest. But you probably have concerns and fears about the recovery process and how long it will take. It's true that knee replacement surgery is an evasive surgery with the risk of complications and a possible long and painful recovery. But there are ways to cut the recovery time after your surgery considerably. One of those things are stretching exercises. Stretching is a great way to slowly limber up ligaments and tendons in the knee.

Your physical therapist will have a list of many exercises that will help. You can do stretching in the privacy of your own home to drastically decrease the recovery time after surgery. I just a few minutes a day, you can be preparing your new knee for your new life of pain free living. And stretching exercises can be implemented fairly soon after surgery to help get you back on your feet. The longer you wait to get moving about, the less stellar your results will be. Starting stretching exercises early also prepares your new knee for more intensive rehabilitation exercises.

Don't worry if you have never learned to properly stretch before. Your physical therapist will show you exactly what to do to keep you from putting too much strain and damaging your new knee. You don't want to rush into it too quickly and put yourself at risk. First thing in the morning will be the most productive time for your stretching. This will help you start your day with a healthy frame of mind. Working slowly towards getting your new knee moving again will decrease your recovery time and you'll be soon on your way to a pain free life.

Of course, you need to consult your doctor before starting any kind of stretching or exercise program to keep from damaging your knees. Too much, too soon could set you back, but just the right amount can get you back on your feet in no time! Your main goal is to increase flexibility and range of motion. This will help heal your new knees get used to an everyday life of mobility. Your doctor will help you every step of the way in getting the most range of motion from your knee replacement, but it's up to you to educate yourself on a healthy recovery.

Belly Dancing As Arthritis Treatment

Exercise is usually one of the common prescriptions of doctors for patients who are suffering from arthritis. Although joint pain could be persistent during times of movements, it is still highly recommended so as to increase one's threshold of pain while flexing the bones and muscles to reduce stiffness. It is dangerous to stay stationary when you have arthritis. This will only increase swelling and firmness.

There are various forms of physical exercises that helps ease arthritis symptoms. Tai chi, yoga, and water exercises are the usual alternative physical therapies. But to date, another addition is well liked and advised-belly dancing.

Belly dancing is a traditional Middle Eastern dance that emphasizes the belly through hip movements. Although the focus of the dance is on the hips and pelvic area, this dance involves every part of the body, thus a very good way of exercise for the joints. The head, neck, arms, hands, chest, waist, thighs, legs and feet are all moving while dancing.

Important movements that are involved in belly dancing are the following:

Shimmy - is the shimmering vibration of the hips. This is created by moving the knees past each other at haste. Some dancers also use contractions of the thighs. Shoulders can also be shimmered along.

Hip punches - is the basic move in belly dancing. This is done by alternating the weight on the legs and swinging the pelvis to the right and left like creating punches on the hips.

Undulation - is the rotating movements of the chest forward, up, back and down. This creates an impression of riding a camel.

Aside from these basic movements, there are other actions such as swaying of the arms from the shoulders to the fingers like a snake, bending of the back, rotating movements of the head and turning and pointing of the toes.

Since these movements are non-impact and weight-bearing for many joint parts, belly dancing as an arthritis treatment offers numerous significant benefits such as:

Improves joint flexibility
Increases bone strength
Develops muscle strength
Relieves back pain
Improves cardiovascular conditioning
Improves balance and posture
Prevents osteoporosis
Increase elasticity of knees and ankles

Belly dancing is such a brilliant way of finding alternative treatment against joint pain caused by arthritis. Not only it is a form of exercise that brings a lot of health benefits, but it is also very artistic and enjoyable to do.

Glucosamine For Knee Pain

Having knee pain is not fun and many people have this pain in their knees in vain. Many people are simply lacking enough of the fluid which is inside of your knee to prevent that painful feeling when you walk.

Well, I am going to give you the same advice that I was given long ago and it may just make your knee feel 100 times better in a matter of weeks.

Your knee has synovial fluid which acts as a slimy substance to reduce friction between the bones in your knee. When you don't have enough synovial fluid, your knee will start to hurt a lot. The good thing is that by taking glucosamine you can restore the lost synovial fluid to your knee. More fluid means more cushion and less friction which means less pain for you.

Your body does require some time to build this extra fluid in your knees but simply by taking some glucosamine for knee pain you will see a difference in as little as one month. At the second month you will feel like you had knee surgery and you have a completely new knee.

I got to the point where I couldn't extend me foot while I was sitting because the pain was so great in my knee, now I hardly ever even feel any pain in my knee when running up stairs or jumping. It is a great feeling to be able to run and jump again without worrying that my knee will give out.

Knee Osteoarthritis, What It Is And How To Live With It

Knee osteoarthritis is complicated by the fact that the knee takes all the load-bearing strain of the full body weight, which in turn makes the condition even more painful. This is a degenerative disease. It often feels worse in the mornings with stiffness that takes time to resolve.

Osteoarthritis, often located in the knee, is the most common form of arthritis to be found in the United States. It differs from rheumatoid arthritis in that, should there be any inflammation present, it is usually not severe.

It is not fully known what causes knee osteoarthritis in the first place. Certainly the cartilage and bone being subjected to mechanical stresses through everyday movements, coupled with the disease being present, make this a particularly difficult and painful form of arthritis.

Knee osteoarthritis can be difficult to treat. One of the characteristics of this condition is the loss of articular cartilage. This has a poor ability to self-heal, which merely exacerbates the problem. People who are overweight or obese naturally have a bigger problem as their increased body weight makes it considerably more difficult for the knee to cope.

Any treatment of the condition must primarily seek to relieve the pain. Sufferers describe the pain as being deep-seated with a prolonged aching that can stay constant for long periods of time, often with little respite. Certain weather conditions, such as increased humidity, can cause the symptoms to worsen.

There are a number of treatments available. These typically reduce the pain and inflammation, but often cause unpleasant side effects. For this reason, many sufferers of knee osteoarthritis prefer to use chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine sulfate in preference to other pain and inflammation relieving drugs.

My Twins and Me - Life After Knee Surgery

2005 had arrived not soon enough for the twin sisters, they had gone through and successfully had rehab done on knee reconstruction surgery in 2004. They continued training harder and harder working on their squat, calves and hamstring area of their injured leg to help build up that support their knee would require with the tough sporting season ahead. This preparation was vital to no more issues with there knee and to mentally get them in that go forward mood and preparing for the up coming challenges of their favourite sport netball in 2005. They had set goals together on where they want to be in the 2005 season.

What goals should be set?

Goal -1 - Stay injury free.

Using the methods learned through their rehabilitation time before and after their knee surgery. The other factor was that they gave more than a 100% in rehab to get back to this stage of their recovery process. Also being mentally and physically fit was a huge bonus as well for their come back trail in the their sport of choice netball. Along with this goal of staying injury free they had to put their knee to the test of physical activity, then and only then can they be confident enough to really push forward.

Goal - 2 - Keep improving training systems.

This is to benefit the recovery progress through their netball season, remembering that your training will help you to excel in your preferred sport but also in your physical being. With this there has to be a balance of how much and how far you push your self with these new systems, remembering that every now and then you will need a break to rest and re-energize. The program you will require will need to be written up by a person who specializes in the particular sport of your choice and with also the ability to input other sporting techniques to improve you on your quest.

Goal - 3 - Make representative teams.

With the training programs you put into place to support your self they should improve your chances of making these representative goals. Obviously over coming your injury so that your are 100% fit will also increase your shot at that level. The other factor is that most representative sports are near the end of a season, so your actions through the season at the top level of play will also contribute to your success. Through the season the top coaches of these teams will do the rounds to select prospects for trials or will have someone attend these fixtures to do it for them. So being prepared and injury free is a big bonus to making the top-level teams.

How do you prevent the injury re-occurring?

By completing your goals you have set up and following through with them religiously and having faith in your body and your abilities to come out on top. Listen to the experts; your physio and surgeon with any advice they have to give you regarding protection of your injury as your build up your physical strength again. Learn about your injury on how it can occur and be prevented from happening again to the same leg or the other. There will times when this injury cannot be unavoidable but preparation before hand will increase your chances of this not happening.

So your goals and aspirations will only happen if you put in the hard work you need to do to succeed, because there will be others who are not coming back from a serious injury that will be training just as hard as you to make it to the next level in their sporting careers. Use the resources available to you and do not be afraid to ask for help.

Locking Joints in Yoga Will Cause Premature Wear

You have heard it a thousand times: "Don't lock your knees." or "Keep your elbows soft." Locking joints, while performing Yoga, means you are overextending the joint and putting yourself at risk for potential injuries. When you lock your knees, the muscles surrounding the joint become passive in the pose, which puts the strain on the ligaments instead.

By continually putting extra strain on the ligaments, cartilage, and connective tissues, instead of the muscles, they will begin to wear faster than they should. Yoga practitioners must be careful to keep all of the joints actively engaged during poses, to avoid premature wear and tear.

Some Hot Yoga teachers have caused a bit of confusion involving the term, "lock the knee." If you have ever taken a Hot Yoga class, you probably heard the instructor encouraging students to "lock the knee," while you are in a balancing posture. Perhaps, you wondered why you would be encouraged to put extra strain on the joints.

This is a classic misunderstanding between teacher and student. What they actually mean when they tell students to "lock the knee," is to tighten the quadriceps muscle of the leg, which slightly draws the kneecap up. This actively engages the muscles surrounding the knee and provides great support for the rest of the body during standing poses. This can take a bit of practice to get it just right, but once you figure it out, without locking the knee joint, it will not cause harm. However, the knee joint itself should have a very slight crack when using this technique and is never to be locked. A Yoga teacher, who feels it is fine to hyper-extend any joint, needs to attend anatomy classes immediately.

Once you damage a joint, the domino effect begins to take place within the body. Joint capsules hold the lubricant, which allow the joints to move freely and smoothly. When a joint becomes injured, the body sends a message to the muscles that control the joint to contract. This results in a locked joint. If the locked joint is in the back, other joints around it will begin to overcompensate for the injured one. This can result in further wear, and undo strain, on those surrounding joints. Over time, this domino effect can also cause osteoarthritis.

It is important to keep the joints active and strong to avoid these potential problems. When practiced properly, Yoga postures help keep the joints lubricated and smooth. Yoga instructors should always remind students to not lock the knees, or other joints, by keeping them slightly bent, or by engaging the surrounding knee muscles. Practitioners can also avoid joint locks by being extremely conscious and aware of their bodies and how they feel during each pose.

穢 Copyright 2012 - Aura Wellness Center - Publications Division

Erosive Osteoarthritis

Erosive arthritis affects multiple small joints of the hand. Patients who have never had a trauma or injury and do not have any history of metabolic or inflammatory condition are the ones who are diagnosed with erosive osteoarthritis which is classified as primary osteoarthritis. X-ray of the affected joint is the most effective test for the diagnosis of this condition.

Erosive osteoarthritis is the most prevalent form of osteoarthritis. Though the disease is not uncommon in men and women, but particularly people in their sixties are the most susceptible to this condition. It is believed that it often occurs mostly due to genetic traits. It usually occurs in women after their menopause but no clear relation with the level of hormones in the patient and the onset of the disease has been established as yet.

In the early stages of the disease, the treatment usually aims at reducing the enormous amount of pain caused by the various conditions brought forth by the disease. Attempts are also made towards reducing the load felt by the joints. Using walking sticks and weight loss programs are common methods for doing the same. Mobilization of the joints, through prescribed exercises is also a part of the treatment at this stage.

In the intermediate stage of the disease is osteotomy, which is a surgical operation where a bone is cut to lengthen, shorten or change its alignment. This operation is usually performed for younger patients.

In the later stages of the disease, the incessant pain requires drastic methods of treatment. In such a case, Arthroplasty is performed on patients over the age of 60. It is a surgical process in which a malformed or degenerated bone is either replaced or reconstructed. However, this operation is not suitable for treatment of younger patients as the demands placed on the affected bones physically are much greater and many a times, the surgery is only a temporary remedy.