New Delhi: Knee osteoarthritis is becoming increasingly common and is severely affecting the quality of life of the people suffering from it, owing to the knee joint being the main loading joint of the body as it takes the stress of activities involving walking, running, lifting, and climbing. This necessitates the attention in order to avoid discomfort, pain, and possible long-term injury. Dr Harish Talreja, an Orthopaedic Surgeon at Manipal Hospital Jaipur during his conversation with News9Live suggested few habits which if avoided would go a long way in preventing damage to your knees and extending the life of you joints.

Refrain from doing deep squats or kneeling for prolonged periods of time, bearing in mind that knee compression can reach five to seven times of your weight when kneeling or squatting.

Do not wear high heels, flip flops, or heavy boots. They put excessive stress on your foot’s small joints as well as your knee and spine while heels are positioned incorrectly. Well cushioned shoes with the right heel height will relieve the stress placed on knee joints and lessen discomfort.

Repetitive exercises like jumping and running on hard surfaces are also incentivized to avoid as they inflict stress on the joint thereby increasing the degradation of the cartilage.

Smoking has a negative impact in all spheres, but in relation to knee health it cuts the blood supply to the joints and interfering with collagen generation becomes somewhat of a roadblock for the production of cartilage.

Excessive weight puts extra stress on the knee joint during activities. On the other hand, losing even one pound takes a lot of strain off the knee as it eliminates four pounds of pressure off it with each step taken.

Any form of active negligence towards a ligament or a meniscus injury will compound the damage of joint degeneration; which will in turn cause early degeneration of joints.

Processed foods, fried foods and carbonated drinks which are high in sugar should be avoided.

In order to keep the knee well aligned, here’s what must be done.

Antioxidants, calcium, vitamins, and proteins must be included in the daily diet while maintaining a balanced weight. Eating a lot of vegetables, beans, fish and nuts and very few saturated fat foods can prevent the wearing out of joints. As a result of this, you will be saving yourself from diseases associated with aging.

All the muscles, tendons, ligaments around the joint are active and will be strengthened by regular exercise. The strength will help with knee stability, flexibility and functioning of the joint.

All forms of active management of knee injuries must be done in due time.