Having Problems with Knee Joints? Here is a Few Tips to Help You.

What are Joints?
Joints are places where bones meet allowing movement and stability to the human body. There are many types of joints and about 400 of them in the human body. Synovial joints are surrounded by cartilage and the joint spaced is filled with a fluid called synovial fluid. One time of synovial joint is a hinge joint, where as you can imagine acts like the hinge of a door, allowing the the bone to swing to and from in two directions.The knee joint is the largest hinge joint in our bodies.

How does the knee joint begin to hurt?
The cartilage surrounding the joint is worn down by pressure from getting up and sitting down, walking, biking, running, etc. This is why older audiences usually experience pain in their knee joints. This symptom is called osteoarthritis. For the knee joint to work well, the muscles around it need to be strong as well. The knee joint is one of the joints that can be replaced with an artificial replica if the pain gets severe. My mom, suffers from osteoarthritis on her knee joint, but she is still fairly young. This comes from genetics.

How Can Knee Joint Osteoarthritis be prevented and helped?
1.Obesity can cause osteoarthritis, so losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight can prevent osteoarthritis.

2. Exercise- If the muscles around your joint are strong, you will rely less on the joint, relieving it from pressure.

3. Avoid Injuries, or if you get hurt- treat them!

4. Eat Healthy-
~omega-3 fatty acids such as fish oil, and other plant/nut oils including walnut, canola, soybean, flaxseed/linseed, and olive.
~Vitamin C. You can get more vitamin C in your diet by eating green peppers, citrus fruits and juices, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, turnip greens and other leafy greens, sweet and white potatoes, and cantaloupe.
~Vitamin D. Vitamin D rich foods include fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines, and herring; vitamin D-fortified milk and cereal; and eggs.

How can it be healed?
-medicine injections.
-replacement of the joint (artificial joint).